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THE REVENGERS (1972)
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars
If you go into this expecting THE WILD BUNCH, of course it will disappoint. If you go in with lower expectations, it is an enjoyable, if sometimes frustrating, Western.
William Holden leads a band of convicts that he frees from a Mexican desert prison (the best part of the film) on a men-on-a-mission journey to find the man who killed his family. Among them are familiar faces: Borgnine reuniting with Holden from BUNCH, Strode who is no stranger to the genre, and more familiar faces from American and European cinema. Holden is great as always. Borgnine plays a fun character but it’s too much at times. He becomes obnoxious as the film proceeds. Strode, as usual, is underused.
The first half of the picture is quite solid with the aforementioned prison sequence followed by a raid at the outlaw’s hideout. It actually feels like the film should end there but it proceeds and not in the best direction. A mid-point surprise shooting made me wonder if the movie was about to do something daring… Nope! In fact, it suddenly moves into a much more standard storyline with an unnecessary romantic subplot. And the last third, featuring a really stupid climax against the Native tribe (are we really supposed to believe they’re that dumb?) sort of ruins the film.
Still, it’s worth a watch on a hot afternoon!
Watched on Tubi.
