The Mule
Year: 2018
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood
Runtime: 115 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 25/12/19 (Legacy Review)
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood
Runtime: 115 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 25/12/19 (Legacy Review)
There’s something about The Mule that is old timey and quaint. It’s not an action packed, testosterone fuelled adventure. Nor is it a work created solely for artistic merit. Instead it serves at a reminder of what films once were, an escape from everyday life into something slightly more extraordinary.
Unfortunately however, as good as it is to see a film like this get made in the modern Hollywood machine, it feels like it only got off the ground because Clint Eastwood was attached to it. The characters and plot are so predictable that you know exactly what will happen to everyone from the first few minutes of their screen time. And to make matters worse they’re cliche, and most of the supporting characters do very little to give the film momentum. It’s a one man show from Eastwood and even he hardly grows over the course of the film.
Maybe I’m too young to fully appreciate it, but to me it’s the story of a stubborn old man who’s too stuck in his ways to fully appreciate what he has till it’s gone, and doesn’t even try to fix that until it’s too late. It’s a film that takes no risks, and does nothing to show audiences that it’s anything other than an ageing relic.
Unfortunately however, as good as it is to see a film like this get made in the modern Hollywood machine, it feels like it only got off the ground because Clint Eastwood was attached to it. The characters and plot are so predictable that you know exactly what will happen to everyone from the first few minutes of their screen time. And to make matters worse they’re cliche, and most of the supporting characters do very little to give the film momentum. It’s a one man show from Eastwood and even he hardly grows over the course of the film.
Maybe I’m too young to fully appreciate it, but to me it’s the story of a stubborn old man who’s too stuck in his ways to fully appreciate what he has till it’s gone, and doesn’t even try to fix that until it’s too late. It’s a film that takes no risks, and does nothing to show audiences that it’s anything other than an ageing relic.