The Mule (2018) Review

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry for everything."
-Earl Stone



Horticulturist Earl Stone (Clint Eastwood) loses his business when he fails to adapt to the world of the Internet.  With a family that hates him and nothing left, Earl falls in with a cartel as a drug mule to make some money to help his granddaughter.  Earl quickly becomes the the best mule in the business, but the power dynamics of the cartel are ever changing and DEA agent Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper) is closing in.


What Works:

Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper get about four scenes together in the entire film.  It's not much, but I like the dynamic they have.  Earl is aware of who Agent Bates is, but Bates knows nothing about Earl.  They have a couple of interesting conversations and their final talk in the third act is probably my favorite scene in the film.

I also like the dynamic Earl develops with several of the cartel members he has to work with.  It becomes like a conversation between coworkers in a novel and absurd way.  We get a few funny moments in these interactions and they were pretty enjoyable.


What Sucks:

The Mule is pretty bland.  It never gets thrilling or exciting.  It's never intense.  It's really a bummer because this story had a lot of potential.  It's doesn't really do anything outright bad, but it's mostly dull.

A buddy of mine suggested that the only reason Clint Eastwood made this movie was to dance up on sexy babes.  I wouldn't not be at all surprised if that was the case.  There are a good four or five scenes where that's all that he does.  It's honestly creepy and uncomfortable.  I hope those actresses got paid really well, but somehow I doubt it.

The writing isn't great either.  A lot of the dialogue is very generic, especially in regards to Earl's ex-wife, Mary (Dianne Wiest).  And there are scenes with very repetitive dialogue as well.


Verdict:

The Mule is a very bland movie that I will probably forget I saw by next week.  Eastwood has interesting dynamics with a handful of characters, but the movie lacks intensity and has some weak dialogue and creepy moments.

 5/10: Meh  

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