Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . for ripping off a key aspect of a great Western, then trying to "dumb it down" to what he feels is the intelligence level of his target audience, and winding up with a weak stew more paltry than the sum of its parts. Wayne collaborated most infamously and overtly along these lines with director Howard Hawks, in "Batjacking" (his trademark term for "hijacking") Gary Cooper's Classic HIGH NOON into the thin broth of RIO BRAVO. Since THE WAR WAGON is directed by an even lesser never-was (Burt Kennedy), its attempt to steal story lines from John Huston and Humphrey Bogart's masterpiece--THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE--is more pitiable than offensive. John Wayne's personal Real Life credo is spelled out twice in THE WAR WAGON. Kiowa "Levi Walking Bear" summarizes it as, "Grab all you can, any time you can." Earlier, in the opening WAR WAGON ballad, Ed Ames sings, "But, wrong or right, I have to fight." Wayne's characters often were wrong in his flicks (such as his "Davy Crockett" murdering scores of Mexican law enforcement officials battling to keep him and his henchmen from RE-ENSLAVING the free Black People of Texas Province), and "Il Duce" himself was wrong 99% of the time in Real Life, especially as he wreaked havoc in the 1940s and 1950s as America's self-appointed Snitch-in-Chief. (The production notes for the 2003 DVD release of THE WAR WAGON reveal that during this Durango shoot Kirk Douglas courageously tried to nip the political career of turncoat Democrat\Assistant Snitch Ronald Reagan ON HIS OWN TIME, but then Wayne put WAR WAGON over budget by rushing from Mexico to L.A. ON ONE OF HIS SCHEDULED SHOOTING DAYS to undo Kirk's Good Deed!) Many of Hitler's generals bought into Davy Crockett and WAR WAGON's philosophy of "Wrong or right, I have to fight." Do you?

Get_your_azz_to_Mars 'The War Wagon' will never be considered one of John Wayne's great Westerns like 'Rio Bravo', 'The Searchers', or 'Red River', but it is a an enjoyable Western with fine performances and great rapport between Kirk Douglas and John Wayne. The action sequences are well done, the humor dry as the desert it takes place in, and the caper story line rather refreshing for a John Wayne film.The problem? When the picture ends it leaves you feeling empty. The characters are not particularly interesting (save for Douglas) and the villain is your standard cattle baron murderous jerk. The war wagon itself is an interesting prop and well used, but never really becomes the menacing character it should've been. I enjoyed the movie as a fan of John Wayne and Westerns in general, yet I doubt most of his fans will find this film particularly impressive when compared to many of his other Westerns directed by Hawks and Ford. That isn't to say you should avoid seeing 'The War Wagon', but you should temper your expectations for what is really just an empty Saturday-afternoon adventure. You'll like it while you're watching it and then forget it as soon as the credits roll.

buddyboy28 To many westerns fans, John Wayne is the ultimate symbol of the silver screen cowboy, and in his long career he clocked up many classic westerns and some not so. He was also capable of shifting from serious westerns to much more humorous ones with ease. This is one that falls into the latter category. It's a fun film with a simple but engaging plot.The movie begins with Wayne been released from prison after been framed by a ruthless miner played by Bruce Cabot, who has taken his land away and Wayne wants revenge by robbing him of his gold which is been transported in an armour plated horse carriage. He forms a mismatched group of desperadoes - Kirk Douglas (a gunslinging safe cracker), Howard Keel (a conniving Indian), an alcoholic explosives expert and a greedy "inside" man.It's amusing to see Wayne on the wrong side of the law for a change and that's just one of the surprising aspects of the film. Another is the unexpected situations that occur now and again throughout the plot, most of which involves the wary relationship between Wayne and Douglas, which is ambiguous to say the least. You're never sure if they're going to stand by each other, con each other or shoot each other. The star chemistry, amusing character interactions, wisecracking banter, and fun action (a bar room brawl been a particular hilarious highlight, which has everything but the kitchen sink thrown in) all combine nicely to make it an entertaining, tongue in cheek comedy caper and one of The Duke's overlooked westerns from the latter part of his career.

mark.waltz As a huge fan of both John Wayne and Kirk Douglas, I was excited to see this sole pairing between the two legends. However, I was slightly disappointed because of the generic plot in which they were involved in which concerned Wayne being framed for an obvious crime he didn't commit, getting out of prison, and seeking revenge on the mastermind (Bruce Cabot) who wanted the gold on his land. The villain has hired Douglas to assassinate Wayne to keep him from loosing everything, but Douglas holds out for the highest bidder which happens to be Wayne. Using "the War Wagon" to transfer the gold off of Wayne's land, Cabot has the tank-like covered wagon made up with a giant machine gun like contraption which truly looks silly driving across the desert while Indians and his enemies chase him.Even sillier is the casting of MGM musical legend Howard Keel as a Native American who joins forces with Wayne and Douglas. Looking absolutely silly in Indian braids, Keel has every right to seem truly embarrassed over having had to take this role. Keenan Wynn plays the grizzled driver of Wayne's caravan who has a younger wife (Valora Noland) coveted by the young Robert Walker Jr. While the film is exciting as an adventure, the dialog is silly, the chase sequences overwrought with slapstick, and the titled war wagon reminded me of the machine in the fantasy sequence of "Kid Millions" (1934) that shot cherries onto Ice Cream sodas like a machine gun. Poor Joanna Barnes, the delightful "top drawer" Gloria Upson of "Auntie Mame" and the gold-digging Vicky of "The Parent Trap", is absolutely wasted as a floozy bar maid. As entertainment, it ranks as watchable, but as serious filmmmaking, it is weak when compared to other films that Wayne and Douglas are remembered for.