Good movie but grossly overrated

A Masterpiece!

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I rate "Lone Wolf McQuade" as being one of the best vehicles for Chuck Norris. An ideal villain was found in the form of David "Grasshopper" Carradine and the two of them raise the film a good deal. I liked the scene when Carradine gives a martial arts demonstration inside the ring, in front of the general public. He showboats for all it's worth but Mr. Norris doesn't look all that impressed.......... There is plenty of incident to keep one watching but the ending was unnecessarily downbeat.

Chuck Norris does a spaghetti western....sort of. Chuck plays a Texas Ranger (not named Walker) who plays by his own rules. He's a lone wolf and likes it that way. I felt more manly just watching him. Anyway, Chuck is annoyed by quite a few things in this film, including the new partner forced upon him and his new girlfriend who cleans his house without asking. But those minor annoyances don't matter compared to the trouble bad guy David Carradine causes for him. The two eventually square off in a fight scene that ranks among the best of Chuck's long career. Lone Wolf McQuade is a fun movie that any Chuck Norris fan will enjoy. It has some elements of the earlier Chuck-Fu years but it's definitely moving into the Cannon era, with Chuck shooting as much (if not more) than he kicks in this one. This would be the last film he did before he signed with Cannon and went on to make many great '80s actioners. Chuck's good in the role, which obviously requires very little. David Carradine is fun as the villain. The supporting cast is fine, with Barbara Carrera as Chuck's girlfriend with a tie to the villain, Dana Kimmell as Chuck's annoyingly perky daughter, and vet L.Q. Jones as Chuck's buddy. The action scenes are well-done and the direction is solid. As for my opening statement about this being "sort of" a spaghetti western. Well, that's because of Francesco De Masi's score, which is heavily influenced by Ennio Morricone. Take away that music and you wouldn't think there was anything remotely like a spaghetti western here. But the score is a large part of the film's style and really helps make this work. Not my favorite Chuck movie from his glory days but it's one of his best pre-Cannon efforts.

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.

in my opinion,this is a good Chuck Norris film,for a few reasons.for one thing,there's plenty of action.the acting is good for the genre.having David Carradine as the main villain didn't hurt either.the fight sequences are quite good.the showdown between Norris and Carradine at the end is excellent,although i wish it had been extended a bit in length.Chuck plays a Texas Ranger here,and of course would go on to play a Texas Ranger again ten years later in Walker Texas Ranger.interestingly,a few of the characters in this film are also Texas rangers and the same actors would go on to play Texas Rangers in at least one episode of Walker.anyway,back to the film.there's a high probability that the character of Mcquade inspired(at the very least)the character of Martin Riggs from the Lethal Weapon series,as the similarities are numerous.for me,Lone Wolf McQuade is a 7/10