Too much of everything

best movie i've ever seen.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Bad habits are hard to die hard for Lee Van Cleef. Once again, he starred in a really horrible movie. Directed by Gene Martin AKA Eugenio Martín, this euro-western film also known as Hunt the Man down, or Four Mercenaries from El Paso, is a mess. The movie tells the story of bandit Roy King (Lee Van Cleef) and his gang. They were hired by a mysterious wealthy man, Montero (James Mason) to blow up a Mexican Army munitions stockpile in Mexico, using a luxury riverboat as a base of operations. The only problem, is that they were lured into a bigger scheme that digs them even deeper into the troubles of the Mexican revolution. Can Roy King and his group dig themselves out of this hole or will the problems of this job, become too much for them to handle? Watch the movie to find out! Without spoiling too much of the movie, I think I would have more respect for this film, if the movie flown right. Don't get me wrong, the movie could had work, with all the double-crossing and twist turns, but it got really annoying with all, the repetitive. Seeing these dummies get duped, time and time, again got frustrated, pretty fast. All the men in this film, are portray as cartoony idiots! The main character that Lee Van Cleef plays, is supposed to be smart, and clever. Yet, he even dumb himself down, by marry a woman, he only knew a few hours in the opening scene? Come on! Who does that! It didn't help that music that came with this film, claims that Lee Van Cleef's character is supposed to be the meanest and scariest of the bad-men of the old west! All we see, as the audience, is Ron King being afraid, and goofing off. The worst twist had to be, toward the end, when the schemes stop making sense. The last twist; comes out of nowhere, and felt so damn confusing. The movie gets dumber, when it comes to the music. Bad Man's River has a god-awful soundtrack, mixed with silly Barber shop quartet songs & out of place, rock music by Jade Warrior. It's completely wrong. It doesn't match the Spaghetti Western, feel, at all. Another problem with the film is the way, it was filmed. The dark blue color picture montage of Lee Van Cleef's face during the opening was really hard to see. I can barely notice, what the picture slideshow was showing. The film quality is so washed out, and faded. It gets worst, as the movie starts to use freeze frame, excessive! I really thought, there was something wrong with my DVD copy, at first! I thought, the dish was skipping frames, but I find out, later, that the film was doing this, on purpose. I don't get, why the director would chose to do this! It really ruins the feel of the film! Thank God, it's only in the first bits of the film. Still, the movie does have some bad editing, chops, toward the middle of the end, that's hard, not to notice. The pacing is a bit off, as well. The movie starts out, with a bank robbery, being successful and the movie plays it off, as if it was finishing up. It really seem like the movie is already, over. Then somewhat Ron King, end up in a mental asylum, only for it to blow up, minutes later! I know it's supposed to tell us, that King has escape, but it seem like he got killed, by the explosion, since the film doesn't show him, escaping! Anyways, the movie jumps around for the rest of the film, from locations in both US & Mexico. Despite, the locations haven't no rivers, near it, a steam boat, somewhat connection them, together. Honestly, I don't know, how Lee Van Cleef & his gang were able to move around, so quick. It's really puzzling, how they even got on the boat. Nothing about the boat's speed, makes logically sense. I guess, the boat is able to travel, both quickly & slow. The movie really push, the runtime, to its limits due to this. There are lots of slow moments with barely any good humor or action. The movie has this weird cartoony feel to its action. Good guys are able to kill, multiply bad guys, while bad guys aimed for the feet and seem like they can't even hit. Even with a sub-machine gun, no less! It's really impossible to suspend disbelief for this movie, when a six-shooter is able to shot, more than six bullets, at a time! I really hate the moment, when one of the villains, receiving a cannon shot to his face, and only appears scorched like a Looney Toon cartoon. It really makes this film appalling to watch! No wonder, why James Mason feels so embarrassed, taking this role. The acting is very stilted, due to the awful dialogue, given. It's clear, that the audio English dubbing, doesn't match the lips, any more. While, this movie is bad, it's not the worst, Lee Van Cleef's film, I saw. He was somewhat alright in this film. I like that he cover his toupet with a bowler hat. James Mason looks like he's isn't have fun like Cleef. He looks so miserable, being there. Eduardo Fajardo, Sergio Fantoni & Aldo Sambrell as the villains, were all funny, at times. By far, the worst character in the film, had to be Alicia (Gina Lollobrigida). I really don't get, how the men in the film were able to stand her. Her acting was over the top. While, her character is a bitch. The actress that played her, was indeed, a sexy sex symbol! Overall: This movie belong in the 1 dollar bargain bins. I just glad, I don't have to watch this movie, ever again. Thank God, all bad things must do come to an end.

Lovable rogue Lee Van Cleef steals from banks and blows things up for a living. He and his gang are hired by James Mason to explode an Army munitions stockpile in Mexico, using a luxury riverboat as a base of operations, only to be pulled into a bigger scheme that digs them even deeper into the revolution.Like most of the Mexican Revolution spaghetti westerns (A Bullet For The General being one exception), this is an acquired taste. Production values are a little iffy and it does run out of steam a bit near the end. On the whole though, there's certainly a lot of action and adventure to make up for it's shortcomings.A Spanish-made, but American-produced minor addition to the genre, this benefits from the participation of Hollywood veterans Philip Yordan and Bernard Gordon, as well as Van Cleef, Mason, and a few familiar European favorites like Aldo Sambrell, Eduardo Fajardo, Gianni Garko, Diana Lorys, and the beautiful Gina Lollabrigida.An oddball soundtrack goes from really dated vocal-quartets, to early-seventies style hard rock, with a marching band in-between!Recommended mainly for Van Cleef fanatics.

In the summer of 1972 I was a missionary for the LDS Church in Bandung, Indonesia. In those days we had one day a month we could go to a movie. On that particular day we chose to go see "Bad Man's River". I can't tell you how this movie ended as I got up and walked out in the middle of it! Mind you, this was the ONLY opportunity over a month long period that I could see I movie. In those circumstances, if I was to walk of a movie it must have been a real bowser. As I recall the straw that broke the camel's back was the sad realization that a more or less distinguished actor like James Mason had been reduced to appearing in total Derek. Lee Van Cleef was in his element, but even he was approaching the margin with this one.

Heaven knows how a talent like Philip Yordan came to such a sorry pass as writing this mess. Heaven knows how badly James Mason must have needed money for him to take part. Lee Van Cleef, one of my great movie heroes, made some really awful films here and there, but this one takes the cake. The pop-rock/barbershop-quartet score, completely inappropriate to the time and place, is the first clue that the viewer is in for a melange of malarkey. Everyone is dubbed, of course--it's a spaghetti Western. But at least Van Cleef and Mason dub themselves. However, Mason, who despite being second-billed doesn't show up until 2/3 of the way through, makes the most embarrassing attempt at a southern American accent I can recall ever hearing. Gina Lollobrigida exposes her talent in her special way, and the rest of the parts are played in the broadest fashion by a cast of overacting hambones. The plot is virtually unintelligible, though it does involve a river for a moment or two (the good guys hope their engine-less riverboat can drift from Matamoros to Laredo before the bad guys catch up to them--despite the fact that Laredo is UPSTREAM from Matamoros.) It's obvious that much of what goes on here is intended as comedy, except, one presumes, for scenes of people being shot and burned to death. Let's just say that none of the stars ever made a worse movie and then just pretend this farago never happened.