I'd agree. Brannigan almost seems like a parody of bad 70's action films now. At the time I like it, but few Wayne films hold up as poorly. McQ is still pretty good.
Brannigan and McQ are two completely different films tonally. Brannigan is a movie that coulkd have very well been made in the 40's or 50's, McQ is very much a product of its time. McQ is a direct response to Dirty Harry, Brannigan is throwback to a more innocent time in movie history.
Brannigan almost seems like a parody of bad 70's action films now.
Yeah, that comment sort of squares with what I just wrote on the McQ board:
Having only seen each film once or twice and not in the last seven years, I will currently go with McQ. Brannigan offers a vintage seventies jazz-funk score by Dominic Frontiere, and having Wayne lumbering around London makes for an amusing cross-cultural scenario, but the setup may be a little too 'rich' or self-consciously iconic and ironic, almost akin to a farce. McQ seems more authentic and thus credible, and there's something about that slightly ominous yet lulling Seattle waterfront.
Difficult to choose if you like John Wayne, AND cars, then have two films that combine the two! I'm English, so i'll have to pick Brannigan...but that doesn't mean McQ isn't a great film! I just loved seeing Wayne driving a Ford Capri identical to one i once owned, and doing it in London too!
I am so glad TCM decided to show some lesser known John Wayne movies tonight. I am watching Brannigan now and I really like it. It is kind of a throwback movie and is very interesting all the way thru. Judy Geeson has always been a favorite of mine and I have read on this site how much she loved working with John Wayne. You can see it on the screen. Richard Attenborough is also a delight. I have seen him so many times in the great escape that it's nice to see him in another role.
With all that said, I love McQ. I think it's John Wayne best film of the 70's. I know others with disagree. He really had some great films in the 70's. I can care less what the critics say about his movies later in his career. The music is a major plus in McQ. The theme song is so memorable.
McQ is the better movie but I do remember seeing Brannigan at the cinema when I was a child and just thought it was weird seeing John Wayne in London--almost surreal! It was years later of course that I realised Baldrick was in it as well. It's a great trivia question!