Malone

Ex-CIA hit-man running from his past (Richard Malone, played by Burt Reynolds) finds just how difficult it is to retire when he runs across a small town controlled by mercenaries and a family that is resisting their control.

Reynolds is a smooth pimp, even kissing a young girl in front of her father. I mean, really, who has the balls to do that? Only Reynolds. And why not, when you can go around and beat people up -- or kill them -- without the police being able to stop you?

An odd mystery: at one point, Malone's birth date is given as February 14, 1941. I wonder if this date was chosen for any particular reason. This is not Reynolds' birthday, and in fact would make Malone a few years younger than Reynolds...

"Malone" manages to at least be watchable without being distinctive in any way. It's pretty much a routine action drama of the time as well as an okay vehicle for veteran star Burt Reynolds. The action is largely perfunctory, and yes, the plot isn't always terribly believable, but a strong supporting cast keeps the attention from wandering too much. There is some effectively brutal violence as bodies get ripped apart by bullets, and some explosions as part of the deal. Harley Cokeliss directs competently if not stylishly. The location shooting in Canada is decent, and that wilderness setting is lovely. (Stock shots of Langley and L.A. are also used). A great score by David Newman is an asset.

The story (scripted by Christopher Frank, based on a novel by William P. Wingate) is awfully familiar stuff: Malone (Reynolds) is a former CIA assassin with no more desire to do his job, so he takes it on the lam. Car trouble forces him to stop at a remote service station run by nice guy Paul Barlow (Scott Wilson), who just so happens to have a cute daughter, Jo (Cynthia Gibb). Malone has arrived in this community just in time to get caught up in the schemes of Delaney (Cliff Robertson), a rich man buying up property like crazy; Delaney turns out to be a right wing zealot hoping to establish a base of operations in the area.

Despite receiving a very serious bullet wound at one point, Malone is a tough s.o.b. who takes on all comers. Fortunately for him, most of Delaney's henchmen are completely useless idiots. That definitely removes a lot of suspense. Reynolds delivers a commendably low key performance in the lead, the ever likable Wilson is excellent as always, Robertson is amusing in a very unsubtle turn, and Gibb (whose character Jo becomes quite attached to Malone) is endearing. Lauren Hutton co-stars as the CIA agent sent to take care of the Malone problem, Kenneth McMillan is the local sheriff, and Tracey Walter and Dennis Burkley play a troublesome pair of redneck brothers working for Delaney.

If nothing else, this obvious "Shane" homage should be a mild diversion for Reynolds fans.

Six out of 10.

Burt Reynold's might go low-key and solemn for his performance in "Malone", but when it came to delivering the action… it's a full-on assault. Slow-motion and shotgun = win-win. And that sequence is beautifully staged… for action fans. "Malone" is a moodily straight- face, if ridiculously plotted late 80s action fodder. Something very different to what Reynolds was participating in within this 80s period. Fans of "Sharky's Machine" might just dig it, because of the violence and a non-mugging Reynolds.

Still what stood out to me just how closely it followed Clint Eastwood's formula in the 1985 western "Pale Rider", especially the connection the between the young impressionable girl (the delightful Cynthia Gibb) and the ex-CIA hit-man drifter who unwillingly gets caught up a small town drama. That was a western, but here it takes a modern-day approach but the western vibe of a mysterious stranger coming into town lingers heavily. Someone escaping their past, trying to get by to only find themselves bringing unwanted attention. The script is rather slapdash and some story arches are questionable (main character's ability to heal), contrived and incredibly silly. Like that of Hutton's assassin, in what feels like nothing more than to push the plot along and add motivation.

Malone was a CIA hit-man who suddenly calls it quits despite the disapproval of his bosses. This leads him to hitting the road to escape his past, but he finds himself stranded in a small town when his car breaks down. For the time being he stays with the mechanic and his daughter until its repaired, but its not a peaceful stay as he comes to blows with a pitiless land developer with very ambitious political interest in seeing America weed out its traitors.

For most part "Malone" is predictable, stoic and casually paced with quick bursts of brutal, heated violence. However this all changes when it becomes personal for Reynold's hit-man, as the crackerjack climatic showdown feels like something out of a comic book James Bond outing. Nonetheless some scenes do pack a punch and the striking sequence of Reynold's coming out of the shadows to confront Cliff Robertson's callously patriotic bad-guy is a marvellous touch. You gotta love his paranoid ramblings and the extreme lengths he goes to. Robertson nails down the puppeteer character with great intent, despite a certain hammy glee to his grandeur viper illustration. There's some good support from the likes of Scott Wilson, Lauren Hutton, Kenneth McMillan, Alex Diakun, Phillip Anglim, Dennis Burkley and character actor Tracy Walter who has a very memorable encounter with the title character.

Director Harley Cokeliss' plain direction is sturdy without showing much style, despite his use of slow-motion and capturing shots of an attractive valley backdrop.

Going back to serious roots, Reynold's "Malone" is sober, tough and mindless action.

"Are you so important?"

Even though some people state that this film is awful, but they are forgetting that most 80's action films where and this was one of many that was churned out then forgotten.

I vividly remember first watching this on video rental and thought it was brilliant and even though it's very dated I still love the film as an 80's classic like I would watch some old black and white film.

I don't feel I should have to wait until the film is 40 or 50 years old to claim it is an classic nor should I go with other persons comments that it is crap just because they are watching the film without growing up in the 80's when the film was made and is set in.

with regards jpclarke

Malone (Burt Reynolds) is a former CIA man who wanders into a town in rural Oregon on pure chance and becomes embroiled in a conflict with a group of far right extremists terrorizing the residents.

Malone was one of a number of Reynolds movies released in the 80s, and like many others was subject to critical derision and financial disappointment. In Malone's case it was unfavorably compared to classic western Shane, and while the comparison isn't unwarranted, Malone is still a well made contemporary action thriller with a traditional western framework.

Reynolds as the titular Malone is actually pretty good in the movie, and it's nice to see Reynolds play against his established persona that had colored his career from Smokey and the Bandit onward. While he still maintains his dry laconic delivery in some humorous instances in the movie, the movie also allows Reynolds to convey a level of simmering intensity hidden behind a stone faced facade of quiet resignation that makes Malone a bit meatier than your average 80s action shoot 'em up. The villains are adequately dispicable and hateful, with Cliff Robertson being a memorably grotesque Delaney and Alex Diakun giving superbly slimey performance as Delaney's sadistic henchman Madrid. The only drawback to Malone really is that the comparisons to Shane are indeed as accurate today as they were then, but is that necessarily a bad thing?

Malone is a perfectly serviceable action film. Burt Reynolds gives a commander performance in what's essentially a classic western dressed up in contemporary clothes. It doesn't have much lasting impact, but it's a perfectly suitable time killer.