"Charley Varrick" plays like a Richard Stark novel, a classic heist/getaway flick. My eyes were glued to to the screen just watching Walter Matthau work. And he's perfectly at home playing the street-savvy bank robber. Guy's got that disheveled grumpy look to him, and he makes for a sly bad guy.
And then John Vernon shows up with his sinister timber, followed soon after by Stetsoned hit-man Joe Don Baker. Seems an odd casting choice, but this is a Don Siegel movie. Things just get better from then on. The junkyard showdown proved to be a nail-biter of an ending, but we always knew Matthau would somehow have the last laugh.
It's slickly produced and engaging from start to finish. But with Siegel at the helm, Lalo Schifrin dong the music, and Matthau's assured criminal professionalism, it was bound to be good.
7/10
And then John Vernon shows up with his sinister timber, followed soon after by Stetsoned hit-man Joe Don Baker. Seems an odd casting choice, but this is a Don Siegel movie. Things just get better from then on. The junkyard showdown proved to be a nail-biter of an ending, but we always knew Matthau would somehow have the last laugh.
It's slickly produced and engaging from start to finish. But with Siegel at the helm, Lalo Schifrin dong the music, and Matthau's assured criminal professionalism, it was bound to be good.
7/10