Movie: 5/10
I found myself, for the first time, searching for the function on the remote that would let me know how far I was into the movie. I was only 30 minutes into the 2 hour running time. The boredom was periodically relieved by something interesting happening onscreen, most notably the car chase, but quickly returned when something silly happened. (Apparently there’s only one Sunshine Cab in all of San Francisco?)
It wasn’t all bad. Steve McQueen was a badass and when he called “Bullshit!” on Robert Vaughn, I knew instantly that it was the first time it had been uttered in a mainstream movie. I appreciate what the performance and character meant at the time and can see their influence in countless films, for better or for worse.
Car chase: 7/10
I probably would’ve rated this an 8 had it not been for the silly ending. I’m sure it was novel for the time but I’ve seen too many car chases end at an exploding gas station for me to forgive what may have been the first. The hills of San Francisco make for the perfect setting as the danger of what’s coming around the corner is compounded by the danger of what’s coming up the hill. It didn’t have me on the edge of my seat but I certainly was entertained by it.
