After killing an innocent man in self defence, Mexican-American lawman Bob Valdez(BURT LANCASTER)asks gunrunning rancher Frank Tanner(JON CYPHER),who instigated the chaos, to pay the dead man's wife compensation. Tanner rebuffs and humiliates Valdez twice, and the second time results in the latter being tortured. An angry Valdez has had enough, and is prompted to dust off his old army uniform, take up his musty Buffalo Rifle,his battered Shotgun and his haggard Winchester and raise Cain on Tanner and his men. The one man apocalypse that is Bob Valdez kidnaps Tanner's fiancée Gay Erin(SUSAN CLARK)and escapes deep into the mountains. Tanner and his men relentlessly pursue Valdez through the hazardous terrain.However,if Valdez has his way, it will not be long before the hunter becomes the hunted...
VALDEZ IS COMING was a bit of a let-down for me.The region 2 DVD print spoiled the film, but I'll talk about that later. The film is bad, it's good and at times it's unintentionally funny so I got a good laugh out of it.Burt Lancaster was fantastic as always and although I did think his Mexican accent was very good, I couldn't help but chuckle each time he spoke. The dark makeup and eye shadow didn't help either and I couldn't take him seriously in some scenes, watching him charge about among the rocks with his rifle drawn was rather amusing, although these shots were excellent. Jon Cypher was good as Frank Tanner,but I couldn't take him seriously either and he wasn't as threatening as he should have been. Richard Jordan's character was annoying and behaved like an immature child, but Barton Heyman stood out as El Segundo. The script and storyline were great. It's a "straw that broke the camel's back" premise in which the wronged hero raises hell and kicks ass in truly epic fashion, which I find inspiring. The ending was terrible. It was so pathetic that it made me laugh out loud. It was extremely anti-climax as the film was good the whole way through, the suspense had been built up energetically for it to fizzle into nothing. This ruined the film, the characters are simply left in limbo and the film doesn't get the climatic final shootout it deserves. The characters just stand there and what follows is a stupid freeze-frame of them looking at each other. Although the final lines are morally relevant as they question the acts of both Valdez and Tanner and sum the film up. Valdez didn't want to kill, but through Tanner's ignorance and greed was forced to.
The action scenes were taut, brisk and magnificently shot. They were abrupt, although still exciting and intense. Burt did his thing fantastically and the stunts were awesome. The shots of Valdez with his Buffalo Rifle shooting Tanner's men from nearly a thousand feet away were exhilarating and incredible. The shots of Valdez riding between the two horses whilst being shot at by El Segundo were amazing, but the adrenaline rush was unfortunately short lived as this scene was hacked to pieces. The BBFC are extremely strict when it comes to animal cruelty which called for the shots of the two horses being shot and tripping to be cut. This really disappointed me and because of this, I didn't enjoy the film as much as I should have. The brutal shot two horses crashing into each other and some shots of men being shot and falling with their horses were also cut, making the killcount seem smaller. I am just as disgusted by animal cruelty as everyone else and love animals,especially horses, as much as the next person, but I seethe with anger when westerns are cut to pieces because they have a few shots of falling horses. As the film was made in a time and a country where animals had no rights, the BBFC should have left the film alone.It completely destroyed my viewing experience and it's unfair on me as the viewer. When I buy the DVD I expect to get my money's worth. When I buy some cut version I feel as if I'm being cheated. Rant aside, the short horse chase in the canyon was brilliant. The scenes in which two of Tanner's men are shot by Valdez on two separate occasions and he sends them back to Tanner all shot up and in agony with a message that he will get Tanner sent a chill down by spine.
The cinematography was terrific with superb shots of the rugged,rocky,barren Spanish landscape which only Spaghetti Western fans can truly appreciate. The script had quite a few plot holes and at times the dialogue was very dry, corny and boring which made the film drag. Some lines were so cheesy that I cringed. At times some scenes were packed with pointless screaming and swearing, but there were some clever and memorable lines too. The soundtrack wasn't bad. The quality of the region 2 DVD is below average with poor sound quality. It could do with a re-release from Pegasus. VALDEZ IS COMING is a slightly above average western drama, it's shot in a taut, fast paced way with some outstanding action scenes, all of which build up to nothing. The region 2 DVD didn't do the film justice and if you want to see it, buy the uncut region 1 print. It's the type of film you should enjoy with a couple of Beers on a dull Saturday afternoon.Although,even if the film isn't so good, the poster sure has one hell of a tagline.6/10.
(After shooting a Mexican rider with his shotgun) Mexican Rider(dying):What you got in that thing. Valdez: I told you, it's for Rabbits.
VALDEZ IS COMING was a bit of a let-down for me.The region 2 DVD print spoiled the film, but I'll talk about that later. The film is bad, it's good and at times it's unintentionally funny so I got a good laugh out of it.Burt Lancaster was fantastic as always and although I did think his Mexican accent was very good, I couldn't help but chuckle each time he spoke. The dark makeup and eye shadow didn't help either and I couldn't take him seriously in some scenes, watching him charge about among the rocks with his rifle drawn was rather amusing, although these shots were excellent. Jon Cypher was good as Frank Tanner,but I couldn't take him seriously either and he wasn't as threatening as he should have been. Richard Jordan's character was annoying and behaved like an immature child, but Barton Heyman stood out as El Segundo. The script and storyline were great. It's a "straw that broke the camel's back" premise in which the wronged hero raises hell and kicks ass in truly epic fashion, which I find inspiring. The ending was terrible. It was so pathetic that it made me laugh out loud. It was extremely anti-climax as the film was good the whole way through, the suspense had been built up energetically for it to fizzle into nothing. This ruined the film, the characters are simply left in limbo and the film doesn't get the climatic final shootout it deserves. The characters just stand there and what follows is a stupid freeze-frame of them looking at each other. Although the final lines are morally relevant as they question the acts of both Valdez and Tanner and sum the film up. Valdez didn't want to kill, but through Tanner's ignorance and greed was forced to.
The action scenes were taut, brisk and magnificently shot. They were abrupt, although still exciting and intense. Burt did his thing fantastically and the stunts were awesome. The shots of Valdez with his Buffalo Rifle shooting Tanner's men from nearly a thousand feet away were exhilarating and incredible. The shots of Valdez riding between the two horses whilst being shot at by El Segundo were amazing, but the adrenaline rush was unfortunately short lived as this scene was hacked to pieces. The BBFC are extremely strict when it comes to animal cruelty which called for the shots of the two horses being shot and tripping to be cut. This really disappointed me and because of this, I didn't enjoy the film as much as I should have. The brutal shot two horses crashing into each other and some shots of men being shot and falling with their horses were also cut, making the killcount seem smaller. I am just as disgusted by animal cruelty as everyone else and love animals,especially horses, as much as the next person, but I seethe with anger when westerns are cut to pieces because they have a few shots of falling horses. As the film was made in a time and a country where animals had no rights, the BBFC should have left the film alone.It completely destroyed my viewing experience and it's unfair on me as the viewer. When I buy the DVD I expect to get my money's worth. When I buy some cut version I feel as if I'm being cheated. Rant aside, the short horse chase in the canyon was brilliant. The scenes in which two of Tanner's men are shot by Valdez on two separate occasions and he sends them back to Tanner all shot up and in agony with a message that he will get Tanner sent a chill down by spine.
The cinematography was terrific with superb shots of the rugged,rocky,barren Spanish landscape which only Spaghetti Western fans can truly appreciate. The script had quite a few plot holes and at times the dialogue was very dry, corny and boring which made the film drag. Some lines were so cheesy that I cringed. At times some scenes were packed with pointless screaming and swearing, but there were some clever and memorable lines too. The soundtrack wasn't bad. The quality of the region 2 DVD is below average with poor sound quality. It could do with a re-release from Pegasus. VALDEZ IS COMING is a slightly above average western drama, it's shot in a taut, fast paced way with some outstanding action scenes, all of which build up to nothing. The region 2 DVD didn't do the film justice and if you want to see it, buy the uncut region 1 print. It's the type of film you should enjoy with a couple of Beers on a dull Saturday afternoon.Although,even if the film isn't so good, the poster sure has one hell of a tagline.6/10.
(After shooting a Mexican rider with his shotgun) Mexican Rider(dying):What you got in that thing. Valdez: I told you, it's for Rabbits.