Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)

If Dirty Harry were a Texas Ranger, he'd look a helluva lot like J.J. McQuade. Ranger Chuck is your Dirty Harry of Texas Rangers. And McQuade takes the Dirty part seriously, speaking of which, McQuade isn't very friendly much of the time. His best pals are his fists, feet, his guns, and his trusty pet wolf.

LONE WOLF MCQUADE has a nice modern-day Western feel to it. A lot of that is helped by the excellent score by Francesco De Masi. Being from the 1980s, it naturally has everything, including: fists, kicks, guns, Uzis, rocket launchers, a crossbow, grenades, and a contest between a bulldozer and an armored car.

Chuck usually hits the bad guys before they even finish swinging their fists. At one point, it takes three bad guys to wrestle him down, and that's AFTER he's been shot! When he gets mad, he kicks a post and brings down an entire porch. When a bad guy's getting away, Chuck just chases him down and jumps on his truck and then hangs on until the driver crashes due to Chuck being on his hood. He also runs across rooftops, Even when beaten and buried in his truck, he finds a beer, drinks half of it, and pours the other half over his face to freshen up...before starting the truck with its supercharger and breaking free. This is great stuff.

There's something about Chucks acting that elevates him a above the level of a Seagal or a Van Damme; it's like he doesn't have to try as hard to be cool. David Carradine has a weird, low-key acting style, but it works here for his evil villain role. Barbara Carrera is hot, playing the woman who has to choose between the two.

Lone Wolf McQuade is an enjoyable movie with a lot of nice moments. It's competently directed and has a lot of great names in the cast. It's hard to ask for more than that.

Excellent movie...overall 9 out of 10.

Fmovies: In one of his very best vehicles, Chuck Norris plays Texas Ranger J.J. McQuade, a solitary man with his own way of doing things. In this tale he must do battle with a nefarious arms dealer, Rawley Wilkes (David Carradine). His boss tries to saddle him with a partner, nicknamed "Kayo" (Robert Beltran). J.J. is naturally resistant to this arrangement, but Kayo is determined to prove himself worthy. J.J. also finds himself another ally when F.B.I. agent Jackson (Leon Isaac Kennedy) shows his own willingness to not do things strictly by the book.

The decision by director Steve Carver (who'd previously worked with Chuck on the formulaic but fun "An Eye for an Eye") and his filmmaking company to play this like a Spaghetti Western is an inspired choice. Carver directs with a real flair, the rural scenery is breathtaking to behold, the action scenes are extremely well executed, and the Chuck vs. Carradine title fight is an irresistible hook. Certainly one man who understands the tone of the whole thing is composer Francesco De Masi, whose score is just perfect.

What's nice to see is that Carradine, who often slummed in B fare and basically phoned in his performances, makes for a truly effective villain here. He actually looks like he's enjoying playing this over confident, egomaniacal creep. Much eye candy is supplied by the luscious Barbara Carrera, who has the role of Wilkes's uneasy "partner". Chuck and Carrera do have some sexy scenes together. Beltran is fine as the eager beaver young cop who is initially something of a nuisance but who will prove his worth by the end. Much praise goes to the uniformly solid supporting cast, including such luminaries as L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, Sharon Farrell, and William Sanderson. The lovely Dana Kimmell of "Friday the 13th Part III" fame plays Chucks' frequently imperiled daughter. Daniel Frishman has the most delicious role in the picture as the diminutive crook Falcon; this is another guy who looks like he's having a good time.

Rough, tough, and rousing, "Lone Wolf McQuade" makes for completely agreeable entertainment, delivering to us a finale that we can savour. Chuck and Carradine performed the stunts themselves, to the chagrin of the producers.

This would make a fine double bill with "Code of Silence", another of Chucks' best features.

Eight out of 10.

Certainly Chucks greatest along with The Delta Force, this film has very few flaws. From the outset we see the hard and rugged Chuck fight it out with style and humour. The joy within this film is yet again a credit to Norris. The best scene's involve the uzi scene (his face as he spins round - utter comedy), the line "No one's ever killed a Texas Ranger", the crazy little guy, THE SHEER DELIGHT as he drives his car out of the ground and the great end fight scene where Carradine camps it up no end. The what would normally be haunting music only adds to the fun of this film...the only time I didnt laugh is when they shot his dog!

Lone Wolf McQuade fmovies. Chuck Norris was clean shaven until this role, and since it he hasn't shaved his beard. From this movie, Norris' hit t.v. show Walker Texas Ranger is based.

JJ McQuade (Chuck Norris) is a Lone Wold renegade Texas Ranger. He is unstoppable, using karate kicks and uzi's to hose down the enemy. He is a divorced father, who takes care of his daughter, yet has enough time for a love affair with the stunning Barbara Carrera.

This is also the first movie where Robert Beltran of Star Trek fame is featured. Also in this movie are David Carradine and Leon Isaac Kennedy. So the cast is great, the story is tight, the music by Francesco De Masi is amazing, and the action is constant.

This is a must see for any action fan, it also makes good viewing at home with a beer and a date, because there is a lot of romance in it as well.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

What can I say? This one is a classic!! My all time favorite movie is John Carpenter's Escape from New York with Kurt Russell. Lone Wolf McQuade falls into the same genre of early 80's action movies. I saw this movie when I was a kid and thought to myself, "wow-that desert place looks cool as hell". Well now I live in El Paso.

Everything about this movie is great. It has it all. Killer fistfights, beer, explosions, gunfights, awesome scenery, an evil midget, more beer, and one damn fine senorita' played by Barbera Carrera. The fight at the end between Norris and Carradine is one of the best on film. It's up there with the fight in Roadhouse, and in Die Hard. If you like good ole' fashioned kick ass action. This is your movie!!! A Chuck Norris masterpiece!

This is actually a pretty nifty little action film, fashioned as a modern day "spaghetti western." Solid direction by B-Movie veteran Steve Carver and a well-written script combine with a first rate performance by Norris (his absolute best to date....this character could be seen as a prototype to his current smash hit on TV, "Walker: Texas Ranger")to make this great escapist entertainment. David Carradine is also memorable as the chief villain of the story.

I saw this film in a packed theatre when it was first released and the audience just ate it up. The scene where he drives his truck out of a grave that the bad guys have buried him in was a particular crowd-pleaser!