The Missouri Breaks

The unpredictable Brando, who needs to play a different character on every day of filming (and who probably took on the project only for the money and because of his weakness for Native American themes) is like a millstone around the neck of Arthur Penn’s career, which had got off to a promising start. The film suffers from the same lack of focus as its lead star, as Penn fails to evoke a consistent atmosphere or at least create a more substantial dramatic situation. On the other hand, the film never gets sufficiently out of the genre lane for it to become a bizarre western acid trip, as it merely trudges along and attracts attention with Brando’s inappropriate seriousness or a nicely composed shot. For the real revival of the western, fans of the genre would have to wait another sixteen years, until the release of Unforgiven. 65% (2011-10-17)

The relentlessly fanatical regulator Marlon Brando versus the sympathetic horse thief Jack Nicholson... More than a good western directed by Arthur Penn. The slowly unfolding plot takes its time and quite pleasantly introduces us to the characters, when Brand's character bursts into the tense (un)wellbeing and really scares us. Waiting to see what happens is thrilling and unpredictable. And the finale isn't bad. John Williams composed one of the least Williams-like soundtracks ever for The Missouri Breaks on first listen, but it's still him. (2013-01-19)

There are two distinctive characters (Brando and Nicholson) that fade away a bit in a film that lacks anything distinctive besides those two that could truly amaze and captivate the viewer. The story here is actually simple, it's just the acting that pushes it a little higher, which is too bad, especially given the two-hour runtime. (2018-03-21)

A likeable Nicholson, a bland Brando and a very weak script that seems to be trying to make fun of classic westerns, but with a strange concept that didn't work for me at all. There are few great scenes, like the train robbery or the final quarter of an hour, that are worth watching and I was intrigued by the partial confusion between the good and the bad guy, but the overall impression is quite awkward and if it wasn't for Nicholson, I'd probably have a hard time finishing it:-) And Brando was totally out of place. 60% (2012-12-24)