Ladies & gentlemen, today, we review the latest movie for big time star Clint Eastwood to star in. It is based on a 1975 novel. The one, and only, Cry Macho!
Plot: Set in the year 1979, in Texas, a former rodeo star named Mike Milo (Clint Eastwood) is tasked by his former boss (Howard Polk) to bring his 13-year-old son, Rafo (Eduardo Minett), into Texas from Mexico City. Despite this turning out to be a more difficult task than expected, the question remains, will Mike be able to accomplish this task in the end?
Although there were some areas where this film could have maybe ended up being a little better, Cry Macho is still a very good film. First off, Clint Eastwood does a very good job, a lot of the time, of nailing the very mannerisms that have made him a great actor in the first place. Sure, there are times where one may feel like Eastwood may have pulled it off a little better in previous films that he was in, be it Dirty Harry, Space Cowboys, or Gran Torino for instance. Still, he does a decent job with his acting job here. Additionally, there’s showing the landscape, and culture of Mexico, and/or Mexico City. Yeah, if you’re one of those people who thinks that all of Mexico is like say the culture of the US in terms of it’s economy, or whatever else, a film like this one will definitely open your eyes as to why that’s not exactly the case. People may likely be surprised by how different the culture of Mexico is from that America. The cinematography is also really good, from the desert at daytime, or nighttime, to the shots of homes, or even the mountains by the freeway, as cars are driving. The score is also very good. I was surprised to find that the score was composed by Mark Mancina, the very composer whose works include scoring for even Disney films like Tarzan, Brother Bear, and Moana. Well, regardless, he does a very good job of using accurate music that plays (or played) either in the US, or Mexico either during those times, and possibly even now. Clint Eastwood, and the other characters do a great job of bringing in a script that is rather hilarious at times. It was nice to see that Clint Eastwood even has a very good sense of humor, along with Eduardo Minnet, and some of the others occasionally. Also, how could you not like the rooster, Macho? One other thing to like about this film is that this film addresses some issues, and topics that you don’t seem yo hear addressed as often in mainstream media as of nowadays. So that was nice too.
However, Cry Macho suffers, first of all, from most likely having some pacing issues at points. Yes, the pacing is also good at other times too. Still, the story could have been a little better in that regard. Some of the characters, aside from Mike, and Rafo, could have been a little better developed as well. Oh yes, some of them are still, but not exactly memorable enough for us to care about them. Well, to a degree, even Rafo could have been written a little better as well. There’s also the ending. It’s not bad. It’s just that the ending could have maybe extended by an additional 15-20 minutes. Oh, and another thing to mention in regards to the ending is that there may be some aspects of it that you might find yourself surprised about.
And that’s my review for Cry Macho. Even if it’s not quite one of Warner Bros. best works, there’s still a lot to enjoy about it. It’s far from perfect. Still, it’s a very enjoyable film, whose pros outweigh it’s cons. Definitely go see it, and see what you think about it yourself!
Final Grade: B
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