The Mule

If there had also been a lot of smoking in this movie, it would definitely have been Jaroslav Kubera's favorite film. The most annoying thing about the film is that it tries to sell itself as the outsider story of an old fart in a present incomprehensible to him, doing so at a time when social demands under the banner of the winning slogan "Make America Great Again" call for exactly these types of characters and roles. Not to mention how much the semi-dead and nearly immobile Eastwood, relishing in spouting controversial minority epithets, which he qualifies as his right given his advanced age, resembles that unfortunate creature in our country sitting in Prague Castle. Who knows if it was more due to Schenk or to Eastwood, but the film's seemingly conciliatory toothlessness then permanently suggests that, while no one has anything against lesbians or blacks, a time when old grease monkeys begin losing their honest, sweat-stained jobs to the Internet is the same as a time in which it has become no longer desirable to call lesbians dykes and blacks negroes. So let's not be fooled for a second that this film doesn't do politics. You can try to retreat into comfortable escapism and get swept up in the story, but I don't recommend that either, because the film is not even able to exploit its plot holes for the sake of entertainment, but instead does exactly the opposite. The boring Pilcher-esque part with the late coming together of the family (yes, even featuring cancer) is annoying in itself. But if you have to keep thinking that none of this would have happened if a Mexican cartel had been so kind as to place a GPS tracker in the car carrying three kilos of coke for them, it's practically unbearable. It's unbearable even to mention the police work, which is actually based on information from a single informant. Fans of early Harmony Korine or Gaspar Noé will surely get what they came for in the scenes where the undead Eastwood, with the light already shining through his eyes from the other side, gets wild with the ladies. (06/19/2019)

A safe bet. Even though the family sub-plot almost surprises in its unsurprisingness, developing into inadequately fairytale morality, and heading overall towards an inevitable finale, I enjoyed it and was even moved at times. The legendary personality of the director/actor (especially the later) is evident in every line uttered with gusto and in every camera movement, with a narration that never grinds, the likeable evolution of Earl’s motivations and the position of the investigators, so the slightly repetitive scheme gradually becomes more dramatic and, despite the perhaps exaggerated laxity, you can feel in the story an old man’s sincere recapitulation of a life that cannot be lived again and whose errors cannot be mended. Clint is great again, you will get used to his character, laugh with him and feel sorry for him. And the solid cast of known actors in secondary roles makes it even more pleasant. 80% (02/03/2020)

Clint Eastwood is still in fine form at 88, both as a director and actor, and he's chosen a decently attractive subject, one of the oldest drug smugglers ever. Eastwood does a great job, dancing, drinking, having a threesome with two babes, moving drugs in huge quantities back and forth, and managing to properly wisecrack. The pair of agents, Bradley Cooper and Michael Peña, always on Clint's heels, are also very good. A very easy-going and enjoyable film that will entertain, thrill, move and put a smile on your face. Those who like Eastwood and films about cartels and drugs will not be disappointed. 80% (02/12/2019)

Without the necessary dramatic drive, The Mule is a lukewarm cup of afternoon tea. Interesting thanks only to Eastwood’s personality and his old man of questionable character who, as a husband, dad and grandpa, tries to improve the relationships in his family. This level does not bring forth anything powerful, much less original, and the thriller plotline focused on smuggling looks nicely oldschool, but it doesn’t captivate. The villains are not scary enough, and we are not that worried about our “hero” being imperiled by them. Maybe because almost no one in his story would really miss him. (12/24/2018)

A slow, old-school ride in the style of Gran Torino, in other words, the typical Eastwood signature of the new millennium. A story about family and life experiences from the mouth of a grumpy old man, this time with some drugs and cartels mixed in here in there. Eastwood, however, pulls it off with a refinement and grace all his own. It's nothing we haven't seen in many more animalistic and dramatic variations, but few can season it with such a dose of life experience and satirical insight. It's a pity there are so many great actors and so little room for their characters. Everything stands and falls on Eastwood, and maybe that's a bit of a shame. Plus for Andy Garcia, aka the man with the golden gun. (04/15/2019)