Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Phoenix cop Ben Shockley is well on his way to becoming a derelict when he is assigned to transport a witness from Las Vegas. The witness turns out to be a belligerent prostitute with mob ties—and incriminating information regarding a high-ranking official.
The Gauntlet is a solid but formulaic late-70s Eastwood action vehicle. The plot hits familiar buddy-on-the-run beats with mob corruption and witness protection tropes recycled from the era. Eastwood and Sondra Locke have decent chemistry and carry the film on charisma alone, keeping the acting serviceable if not distinguished. Cinematography is competent genre work with some memorable set pieces — the house-riddled-with-bullets sequence and the armored bus finale are visually engaging but not artistically ambitious. Novelty is limited; it borrows heavily from the period's action-thriller template without a distinctive voice. The ending delivers a satisfying if predictable showdown that resolves the chase cleanly, earning mild credit for commitment to its pulpy premise.