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The Gauntlet

Play trailer Poster for The Gauntlet R 1977 1h 49m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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75% Tomatometer 28 Reviews 54% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A cop who has seen better days, hard-living Ben Shockley (Clint Eastwood) is recruited to escort Augustina "Gus" Mally (Sondra Locke), a key witness in a mob trial, from Las Vegas to Phoenix. Gus is a beautiful but coarse call girl who claims to have information that makes the two highly expendable targets. Ben starts to believe her after numerous attempts are made to kill them as they travel across the unforgiving desert, pursued by angry bikers and corrupt police officers.
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The Gauntlet

The Gauntlet

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Critics Consensus

Eastwood has a good time playing a dolt in the surprisingly funny Gauntlet, which otherwise has the typical Clint trappings.

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Critics Reviews

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Dave Kehr Chicago Reader The subject is the redemption of the pop hero, and Eastwood accomplishes his purgation with wit, intelligence, and a complete disregard for the prevailing standards of realism. Aug 5, 2020 Full Review Gary Arnold Washington Post Vicious and hypocritical as it is, "The Gauntlet" remains an entertaining sort of disreputable show, considerably more proficient and interesting than junk melodramas in a dogged vein... May 9, 2018 Full Review Variety Staff Variety In a major role reversal, Clint Eastwood stars in The Gauntlet as a person who might be on the receiving end of the violence epitomized in his famed Dirty Harry film series. Mar 26, 2009 Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com …while not quite as thunderously epic as that poster suggests, The Gauntlet is some peak Eastwood machismo, all the better because it sets the star against a smart, angry female character… Rated: 4/5 Sep 5, 2023 Full Review Alan Jones Radio Times Eastwood... blurs the line between law enforcement and the way the Mob conducts its business to provide extra food for thought in a compelling and well-paced tale. Rated: 3/5 Aug 5, 2020 Full Review Kaspars Dzeguze Maclean's Magazine There's too little action to let Eastwood show himself to advantage as the fine, stylized screen fighter he is. Instead, there's talk and psychology, which he can handle only by gritting his teeth. Aug 5, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (353) audience reviews
CodyZamboni Z Funny, Exciting, As old school cop, Eastwood is set up to fail when he escorts mob witness to trial. Loaded with smart trashy dialogue, and thousands of rounds of ammo fired, Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/01/24 Full Review Bahad j The idea behind this movie moved me a lot, but it was a movie with really satisfying expectations Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/11/24 Full Review Les N Apart from Sondra Locke, well worth watching Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/17/23 Full Review Steve D ok, fans will have fun. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/11/23 Full Review acsdoug D I remember watching this movie at a Phoenix drive-in and thinking, "That wasn't very good," although it was nice to see my town on the big screen. Seeing it again 46 years later didn't change my mind. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/17/23 Full Review Robert R This sixth directorial from Clint Eastwood definitely amps things up in terms of the set-pieces and stunts. From a screenwriting and character standpoint, however, there's a whole lot left to be desired. This feels like a pantomimed version of what Eastwood detractors think all his movies are really like, with Eastwood as the distant, lumbering blunt instrument and Sondra Locke as the mouthy, ultimately incapable love interest. Any chances of chemistry between these two leads is kneecapped from the start, with their largely transactional — even coincidental — relationship making the ill-advised heel turn towards the romantic about two-thirds of the way through. It's just all so hokey and contrived. Even the overall conspiracy behind everything is telegraphed far too early on for the audience. Again, the action is to be noted, but beyond that, I can't say this is anywhere near the actor/director's best. Not even close really. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Gauntlet

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The Gauntlet

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Movie Info

Synopsis A cop who has seen better days, hard-living Ben Shockley (Clint Eastwood) is recruited to escort Augustina "Gus" Mally (Sondra Locke), a key witness in a mob trial, from Las Vegas to Phoenix. Gus is a beautiful but coarse call girl who claims to have information that makes the two highly expendable targets. Ben starts to believe her after numerous attempts are made to kill them as they travel across the unforgiving desert, pursued by angry bikers and corrupt police officers.
Director
Clint Eastwood
Producer
Robert Daley
Screenwriter
Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack
Production Co
Warner Bros., Malpaso Company
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2009
Runtime
1h 49m
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