Two men, long-time friends, are fishing peacefully in a quiet area. To their surprise, they witness someone throwing a young woman from a nearby bridge. The woman's feet have been bound to a heavy weight. Bravely, one of the fishermen dives into the water...
Now this turned out to be a better movie than I had feared. It's not one of the cinematic masterpieces of the twentieth century, but it's a well-made thriller/action movie moving along at a good clip. As you may have guessed from the first paragraph, it's also got a cracking beginning. Protagonist Rod Taylor does very well as Travis McGee, striking the right balance between laid-back laziness and fearless purpose.
Suzy Kendall too does well, but it was a logical mistake to cast her as both "Vangie" and "Merrimay" : these parts should have been performed by two different women.
"Travis McGee" was the hero of a whole series of wildly popular detective/action novels. (Unless I'm mistaken, only a few of these novels have been filmed, which is quite strange.) Watching the movie, one gets a good idea of the kind of male wish fullfillment involved. McGee lives the carefree life of a rich beach bum ; spends much of his time tanning, diving, fishing ; has interesting and loyal friends ; meets stunning women ; does not shy away from a challenge ; knows how to use his fists ; is kind to small children and animals ; and so on. And on and on and on...
Now this turned out to be a better movie than I had feared. It's not one of the cinematic masterpieces of the twentieth century, but it's a well-made thriller/action movie moving along at a good clip. As you may have guessed from the first paragraph, it's also got a cracking beginning. Protagonist Rod Taylor does very well as Travis McGee, striking the right balance between laid-back laziness and fearless purpose.
Suzy Kendall too does well, but it was a logical mistake to cast her as both "Vangie" and "Merrimay" : these parts should have been performed by two different women.
"Travis McGee" was the hero of a whole series of wildly popular detective/action novels. (Unless I'm mistaken, only a few of these novels have been filmed, which is quite strange.) Watching the movie, one gets a good idea of the kind of male wish fullfillment involved. McGee lives the carefree life of a rich beach bum ; spends much of his time tanning, diving, fishing ; has interesting and loyal friends ; meets stunning women ; does not shy away from a challenge ; knows how to use his fists ; is kind to small children and animals ; and so on. And on and on and on...