christopher-underwood
I seem to think I saw this upon its original theatrical release but watching it again remembered nothing so certainly have not seen it since. A really very good film. Solid script beautifully delivered particularly by the wonderful Walter Matthau. His is such a seeming laid back performance and early on we really cannot see the film going anywhere but he has it all worked out. What is really impressive here is that now and again there are loose ends and you reckon you'll just have to live with them button, it all gets whipped up and used. Far from being a slow and meandering 70s movie this is tight as a drum and one of Don Siegel's best.
adrianovasconcelos
I saw Charley Varrick for the first time around 1975, and really liked Matthau's performance against type. I tend to think of him as a comedy actor but he, in Charley Varrick, plays a thief with a past, and comes across very credibly. The cast is sound, photography typically unassuming 1970s, strong screen play, and highly believable action with effective stunts. One of those flicks that I like getting out of my VHS/DVD collection every second or third year for a re-visit. It is that good!
kingsgo4th
The title didn't/doesn't have much oomph to it, but this is a great 70's no-comedy crime thriller with the title character deftly played by Walter Matthau. In this film, robbers discover after cleaning out a small town bank's vault that the amount of money they've stolen is way above the expected take and must have mob ties. Andy Robinson (the psycho in Dirty Harry) plays Varrick's naive partner; Joe Don Baker (Walking Tall) is the hit man the mob recruits to get back the money. In smaller roles, John Vernon is a nervous mobster responsible for having picked that particular bank as a mob drop, Felicia Farr and Sheree North (both looking good, both smooth and smart), veteran character actor Tom Tully and Jacqueline Scott (sister of TV's Fugitive) are all superb. Director Don Siegel keeps the story nicely paced and Matthau's dry, thoughtful gum-chewing Varrick trying to stay alive, keeping a step ahead of the mob is really superb. Also pay attention to his small talk...it matters as the story develops.
jadavix
This is a classic '70s crime movie by the unheralded genius Don Siegel who also made the classics Dirty Harry, The Shootist and the '50s sci fi masterpiece, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.The '70s filmmakers knew a thing about action that is entirely gone from post-Schwarzenegger action movies. They didn't have obligatory scenes where the star strips for the camera so that you can admire their physique and wonder how many stomach crunches they did to get those abs. They were rough and ready pictures about characters pushed to limits both physical and mental. They were in believable situations which only made the pain they felt more empathetic.They had stars like Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Gene Hackman, and Walter Matthau. Guys who didn't look like they spent 9 to 5 in the gym, but that they could have actually lived the life they lived in the movie.And they had villains like John Vernon and Joe Don Baker. Both make an appearance in Charley Varrick. Vernon is a slightly less heinous character in this one; more a man who knows he's in over his head and his days are numbered as he tries to maneuver Matthau and Baker toward each other not be around when the confrontation happens.Baker is excellent as the charismatic, quirky Molly - a facade that belies a ruthless killer.Matthau is also perfect as the eponymous anti hero, surveying the world with eyes that have seen it all before and would be surprised at nothing.The conclusion, particularly, is unforgettable, with Varrick being chased on ground by Molly and trying to get away in a crop duster. Push comes to shove and he flips it, ending up upside down.
AD
