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Released in 1983, "Lone Wolf McQuade" inspired the TV series Walker, Texas Ranger that came out a decade later. Chuck Norris stars as the eponymous McQuade, a kick-axx ranger from El Paso who's known for being a 'lone wolf.' He takes on a drug kingpin (David Carradine) whose gang uses automatic weapons while protecting his daughter (Dana Kimmell) and romancing the kingpin's babe (Barbara Carrera).

While it's easy to write off this film because it's so cartoony, melodramatic and unrealistic, it's a quality action flick if you can embrace it for what it is. The action's good, which includes a few martial arts sequences, and the screenwriter at least attempts to add some depth to the characters. Carradine hams it up as the villain dripping with evil while Norris plays an effective loner protagonist. Kimmell is cute and Carrera is ravishing, but they could've done more with them. The spaghetti Western score by Francesco De Masi is excellent and the authentic Southwest cinematography is a plus.

The film runs 107 minutes and was shot in El Paso, Texas.

GRADE: B-

What can I say? This one is a classic!! My all time favorite movie is John Carpenter's Escape from New York with Kurt Russell. Lone Wolf McQuade falls into the same genre of early 80's action movies. I saw this movie when I was a kid and thought to myself, "wow-that desert place looks cool as hell". Well now I live in El Paso.

Everything about this movie is great. It has it all. Killer fistfights, beer, explosions, gunfights, awesome scenery, an evil midget, more beer, and one damn fine senorita' played by Barbera Carrera. The fight at the end between Norris and Carradine is one of the best on film. It's up there with the fight in Roadhouse, and in Die Hard. If you like good ole' fashioned kick ass action. This is your movie!!! A Chuck Norris masterpiece!

Among all Chuck Norris movies I've watched so far, there were a few I rather liked (especially "Missing In Action" was so hilarious they had to quote it in "Hot Shots 2"), but "Lone Wolf McQuade" is the first time I actually loved every minute. I confess. There are many good reasons for it, though. Already in the opening scene, I noticed the excellent music by Francesco De Masi. The guitars, bells, trumpets, harmonicas are straight from the school of spaghetti western and turn every close-up into larger-than-life drama. David Carradine is a opponent way ahead of the villains Chuck battled in other flicks. Barbara Carrera ("Never Say Never Again") catches the eye as a widow falling in love with Chuck. The story is (intentionally or not) kept as basic as possible: hero meets bad guys, tries a solution with violence, doesn't work, tries MORE violence, then it works. Much in this movie defies reason and logic, but don't ask "why?", just view it as a kind of ritualistic fantasy western in a modern day decoration, thus it can be great fun. And you learn a lot of useful things, for example: you can revive a seemingly dead and definitely buried man with two cans of beer. And don't miss one of the first computer hacking scenes in film history, you won't believe your eyes.

Chuck Norris and David Carradine make this one heck of an action movie by virtue of their performances, alone. It's dated, and in serious need of a remake, but above average for its time. While seriously dated, this film has become an institution among action fans, so if you are a fan of the genre and haven't seen this, you should really give it a viewing.

The performances and execution of this work are typical of the age, and the dialog is pretty stiff, especially when "at the station," but otherwise, it's a decent Chuck Norris film.

Some say it's his best. Unfortunately, I cannot agree with that assessment. He got better, as he grew more mature, in my opinion, but this is the first of the best, at any rate.

It rates a 6.8/10 from...

the Fiend :.

This is actually a pretty nifty little action film, fashioned as a modern day "spaghetti western." Solid direction by B-Movie veteran Steve Carver and a well-written script combine with a first rate performance by Norris (his absolute best to date....this character could be seen as a prototype to his current smash hit on TV, "Walker: Texas Ranger")to make this great escapist entertainment. David Carradine is also memorable as the chief villain of the story.

I saw this film in a packed theatre when it was first released and the audience just ate it up. The scene where he drives his truck out of a grave that the bad guys have buried him in was a particular crowd-pleaser!