Amazon.com Essentials:
It's better than the 1994 remake starring Kim Basinger and
husband Alec Baldwin, but this 1972 thriller relies too heavily on the
low-key star power of Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw, and the stylish
violence of director Sam Peckinpah, reduced here to a mechanical echo
of his former glory. McQueen plays a bank robber whose wife (MacGraw)
makes a deal with a Texas politician to have her husband released from
prison in return for a percentage from their next big heist. But when
the plan goes sour, the couple must flee to Mexico as fast as they
can, with a variety of gun-wielding thugs on their trail. MacGraw was
duly skewered at the time for her dubious acting ability, but the film
still has a raw, unglamorous quality that lends a timeless spin to the
familiar crooks-on-the-lam scenario. As always, Peckinpah rises to the
occasion with some audacious scenes of action and suspense, including
a memorable chase on a train that still grabs the viewer's
attention. Not a great film, but a must for McQueen and Peckinpah
fans. --Jeff Shannon
