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...

In Malone, Burt Reynolds is a CIA paid assassin who's tired of the life and wants out of the company. Of course the company doesn't see it his way and his former protégé Lauren Hutton is sent to terminate his contract with the agency.

But Reynolds in looking for obscurity finds a place where a mysterious millionaire Cliff Robertson is buying all the land in some obscure valley in Idaho to make it his headquarters for some ill defined right wing conspiracy. Robertson's bought the sheriff, Kenneth McMillan and several local louts to enforce his will on the community. Reynolds's car broke down here by sheer chance and he's taken in by garage owner Scott Wilson and his daughter Cynthia Gibb. When Robertson's thugs start leaning on them, Reynolds springs into action.

Burt Reynolds's style is a whole lot like James Garner, quizzical, cynical and charming. I'm not used to seeing him play it as tight lipped as he does in Malone, but he does carry it off. The film borrows a lot from the plot of Shane and I could certainly see a 1987 version of Alan Ladd in the part.

It's a good action film even though a lot of the plot issues are unresolved. More than fans of Burt Reynolds will enjoy this.

"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.

There are some films that miss whatever target they are aiming for yet somehow are just great fun to watch. Malone, a fairly obvious updating of Shane, reaches deeply in to the duffers bag of clichés to pull out; the burnt out assassin, the beautiful former colleague, cute teenage girl and her brave but crippled father and, of course, a nutter who along with his evil henchmen are bent on taking over the government. Starting with the most inept of the baddie's henchmen Malone is gradually drawn in to the fight until he achieves his final pyrrhic victory and moves on. Burt Reynolds is actually not a bad actor when he's not trying to be 'a good old boy' all the time. Cliff Roberstson goes jarringly over the top. Laurren Hutton is beautiful, brave and loyal. Cynthia Gib is cute as apple pie in a see-through nightie and the much miss-used Scott Wilson does exactly what he needs to do. So why is this not a good movie? Dunno. There is nothing obviously wrong with the film. It doesn't look cheap, everyone hits their marks and speaks the lines. The end is a bit over the top and perhaps people were reluctant to let Burt Reynolds be serious. Never mind, I've added it to my list of films to be watch every time they turn up in the schedule and I guess I'll just continue to enjoy it for what it is, a good bad movie.

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.