1983's "Lone Wolf McQuade" is without a doubt Chuck Norris' best movie in every way possible, from the fight scenes to even Chuck's dramatic performance. As you no doubt may know, McQuade is a Texas ranger who does what he has to do to bring the bad guys to justice, no matter what. But when his daughter is injured for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, it gets personnel. It turns out some pretty nasty gun runners are at work, led by Rawley Wilkes who's played with such evil zeal by the late great David Carradine. To make matters more complicated, McQuade and Wilker's wife, Lola (played by the stunning Barbara Carrera) fall in love and begin an affair. In addition to all this, Chuck has to look out for his new partner, Kayo (played innocently but with toughness by Robert Beltran) and his retired mentor Dakota (the understated talented LQ Jones). Rounding at the cast is R.G. Armstrong as McQuade's annoying by the book captain who tries to get him to change his ways (what do you think the chances are of that happening?), Sharon Farrell as McQuade's ex wife, and Dana Kimmell as his daughter. But the one thing that really makes this movie stand out is the amazing music score by Francesco De Masi. Granted, it does borrow heavily from Ennio Morricone's score for "Once Upon a Time in the West" but still manages to stand on its own as one of the best epic scores of any action film. It also helps to have a little bit of cheese to make things more fun, like McQuade's supped up truck that can get him out of any situation (try not to laugh at how he and his truck get of the buried alive dilemma). But its all part of the fun. This is one of those movies that I always have to watch when it comes on TV not only because of all the above reasons but also because there is that indefinable movie magic that always draws me in; I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, this movie has it. So, even if you're not a Chuck Norris film, I highly recommend this one because as far as these types of movies go, they don't get much better than this. 9 out of 10.

Back in the 1980s Chuck Norris made a career out of starring in approximately 40 million low-budget action movies. Most of these were produced by the notorious Cannon Group, but thankfully Lone Wolf McQuade was exempt from that rule. With a price tag that wouldn't even cover the catering budget of the typical Hollywood film, and a PG rating, Lone Wolf McQuade actually manages to be very good for what it is.Chuck is the titular McQuade, a grubby, rugged (grubbed?) Texas Ranger with hair covering 90% of his body who lives in a dirty shack out in the desert and spends what little free time he has blasting at target dummies. His wife and daughter have moved on, tired of his dedication to the job. Make no mistake, McQuade is one honest-to-God, genuine, straight-up tough guy. He's too good for the job, angering his long-suffering Captain who teams him with a cheeky, young upstart Highway Patrolman. McQuade doesn't take to kindly to this and just as he chases his new partner out of his dirty shack his daughter (Dana Kimmel, the cutie-pie lead from Friday the 13th Part 3) is caught-up in a gun-running plot operated by the evil Rawley Wilkes (David Carradine, who looks so much like Chuck they could be brothers, minus the body hair).It's basically an A-Team plot (the clip credits don't help distract from this) but everything is overblown so much it truly would have been an awesome film to watch in a crowded cinema back in 1983. Even the score, by some guy I had never heard of, was brilliant, echoing Spaghetti westerns of the 60 and 70s. Everything that can be exaggerated gets the treatment. But it's important to note that this is not a ridiculous film in the vein of Commando. Lone Wolf McQuade takes itself seriously as a western and somehow, through sheer masculinity and a devil-may-care attitude it works.Apparently Chuck liked the character so much he wanted to make a TV show out of it but MGM wouldn't budge so Walker, Texas Ranger was created instead. It's a shame that it had to turn out that way as a TV show would have been a nice legacy for the movie. As it is, it's one of Chuck's best. I went in with expectations so low they could ooze underneath the bathroom door. McQuade may be a lone wolf, but he's also a dark horse.

This was my first Chuck Norris film so I came to it with an open mind, although I knew pretty well what to expect: lots of macho action and don't worry about credibility (why don't the horse thieves just blow McQuade away five minutes in, instead of messing around spraying a cliff with a machine gun?).So how did it measure up? Well, the action is there with plenty of gun-play and some martial arts thrown in (which look far more realistic than Jackie Chan's gravity defying gymnastics - these guys really hurt each other, although they should kill each other in minutes). We have very satisfactory eye-candy from Barbara Carrera (pity she had to get killed but there has to be a way for Chuck to get back with his estranged wife and daughter). There is also the old mentor who gets killed and has to be avenged, the rookie who learns how to get down and dirty and do some *real* crime fighting, the by-the-book guy who finally joins McQuade's crusade (and he's black), and the exasperated superior. I could go on but you can fill the blanks in yourself. Just to remind us the film is *really* a Western, we have an Ennio Morricone-type score as well (and very good it is).We also have affirmation that the USA has the right to invade another country and impose its will on the inhabitants - and the Mexicans here really are a dirty, helpless bunch, a nasty bit of stereotyping.I found myself comparing this film, featuring a maverick Texas Ranger on the Mexican border, with Extreme Prejudice, the Walter Hill film from 1987 which is much better directed and acted, has just as good a level of action, and shares some plot elements (old mentor, unofficial invasion of Mexico) - perhaps because John Milius made an uncredited contribution to the McQuade screenplay. Lone Wolf McQuade pales in comparison to the later film It is a good enough time-passer but no classic.

I can't comprehend how underrated LWM is. First I have to say that the opening seen is a heck of a way to open an action movie. At the opening scene J.J. McQuade seems invincible. He just stands there as bullets whiz past him not looking worried at all. This scene has to go down in the action books for one of the best openings to an action movie. The next part of the movie shows J.J. McQuade as a tough but fragile Ranger because he has his family and friends, whom he deeply cares about, to look out for. There's nothing much to the villain in LWM. He's played by David Carradine and only there when necessary but it doesn't take anything away from the experience. It focuses more on McQuade than the villain. McQuade is a slob and a beer guzzler but extremely good at what he does. A crack shot and an expert at martial arts despite his unhealthy lifestyle. The villain eventually pushes McQuade to his limit and McQuade must hunt down Carradine to save his daughter with the help of a few friends. The music in LWM sounds like something you would hear out of a spaghetti western which really sets the western mood for the movie. The Final fight scene is an epic mono e mono showdown between Chuck Norris and David Carradine. What an awesome way to end a movie! A great great edition to the Norris collection and I would recommend it to any fan of action movies period.