The Mule

        Earl Stone, a horticulturist, suffers from bankruptcy as his floral service goes under due to the immovable power of the internet. Because of his investments in his business, his family has cut him off as well. With only a grandaughter sticking up for him and his truck, he takes to the road after he his offered a gig delivering cargo to some people in Illinois. He doesn't realize that he is delivering drugs at first, but he knows that they are paying him well. At the same time, detective Colin Bates is working with his partner as they try to catch the cartel in its tracks. They force an insider to help them and they learn about the amazing delivery driver. Their stories will intertwine, but will it end in a chase? a gunfight? No, it actually ends rather somberly and sort of anticlimactic.
       Going into this film, I had many expectations. Mostly, I was expecting Eastwood to redeem himself after the atrocity that was 15:17 To Paris. Critics were mixed with this new film and even though the film barely passes as a "fresh" movie on Rotten Tomatoes, I was still preparing myself in case the film went how I thought it would go. To answer that question, no, it did not go how I thought it would, but that doesn't mean everything was pleasantly surprising. In short, the film was very enjoyable and deserves some praise for certain aspects. Eastwood is obviously great. He carries a lot of the film on his shoulders and he handles the responsibility very well. Bradley Cooper co-stars along with Eastwood and he carries his own plot aside from Eastwoods that eventually comes to a somewhat thrilling meeting. Cooper does his best, but I don't think the script offers him much elbow room other than to be the stereotypical cop that dives head-first into danger whenever he sees fit. Aside from the acting, the other aspects of this film don't really help.   
        One problem I had with the film was its perspective. Eastwood displays his longing for a conservative-dominated America that was pre-technology where people could use words like "negro" and "beaner" and not have immediate repercussions. A running gag the film has is its continual bashing of cell-phone use. The whole "this generation and their damn cellphones" bit gets tiring after the millionth time. Films will usually portray the elderly as "out of touch" with the current times and standards, but this film reverses that by occasionally bashing those who use their cellphones too much, exclaiming them to be the ones who are "out of touch."Although this could've been a great aspect that carves a deeper layer into the movie, Eastwood instead uses it to show his disdain and it comes off as pretentious, molding those who use phones regularly as disconnected, mindless individuals.
       Another thing that bothered me has to do with a supporting character named Julio. Julio is introduced as the guy who the kingpin pulled from the streets and now has to devote his existence to the cartel. He first comes off as hard-hearted and would probably pop Stone's head off at the slightest mess up. At a certain point, it seemed like the film was trying to establish a father-son relationship as Stone tries to give Julio advice, but Julio is later on forced to disestablish this when Stone is reminded by some lackeys of his need for precision. After Julio tells Stone this, Julio is never to be heard from again and is dropped from the film entirely. This relationship starts out as cold and makes a path towards being great, but because Julio is never seen again after that conversation, it makes the past conversations they had useless and almost a waste of time.
        The most egregious aspect of this movie is the time spent with Colin Bates. I eventually got bored of his plot and wanted to go back to Stone's perspective every time Bates came on the screen. It's not bad and that other side of the story certainly serves its purpose, but nothing more is done to flesh Bates out as a character. We do get a peek behind the curtain during a conversation between him and Stone, but overall his character is bland. This is a problem when at least half of the movie is spent with him.
       Also, during the time spent with Bates, the film hints at a possible large scale altercation between Stone and his group and the SWAT team, but that never comes. The most intense it gets is during a swat invasion of a garage that ends up not having much evidence. With only a couple of guys there, it turns out pointless.
        Eastwood wants to go back to a time where things conformed to the conservative ideal and it shows in this film. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it could've been a nostalgic callback to that time period or a love letter to the films of that time, but it comes off as a pretentious method of telling audiences that the modern day possesses nothing redeemable. To put it more simply, this whole movie is an elaborate "back in my day" epic with the modern day as a conduit. It's still an enjoyable ride though. Stone is a great character and I grieved his fate towards the end of the film. I cared about him and wanted him to start making things right in his life and was worried about his safety as his situation started to get more intense. Watching an old man sing country tunes in a pickup with drugs is very entertaining. Stone redeems this films and saves it from being mediocre. His story tells us that family is something that can't be sacrificed. Especially towards the end, Stone makes a decision that shows us that old ties can be renewed and that forgiveness is truly a virtue.  Don't expect to get a visceral experience from this movie. Instead, expect to reflect on the career of a man who has been in the business for decades and, with some downs, has been one of the most tremendous contributors to the film industry. 6.5/10