Duck, You Sucker (1971)

Another movie set in Mexico, but this one's pretty darn different. As a '70s western with an odd title, it seemed likely to be offbeat. As a Sergio Leone spaghetti western also known as A Fistful of Dynamite, it seemed more than likely to appeal to me, even if it's not put on the same tier as the Man with No Name trilogy or Once upon a Time in the West.

A family of armed robbers led by Juan (Rod Steiger) comes across a wanted former IRA terrorist, John (James Coburn), who carries far more than a fistful of dynamite wherever he goes. Juan wants to convince, if not coerce, John to join him in an extra large bank heist. But there are bigger things going on in the midst of the Mexican Revolution, and everyone's bound to get involved whether they want to or not.

When I said "family," I meant blood relatives, including prepubescent kids. This should give you a hint of how uncomfortable it gets. I cheated a little in my tags, as the film is listed as PG on IMDb and unrated on Netflix, but today it would surely get an R between the profuse swearing and the body count. Also rear nudity and an implied rape. (One thing I don't like about Leone's works, western or otherwise: They have little female presence, and the most prominent women usually get sexually assaulted by one of the most prominent men.)

In spite of this grit, I almost added a comedy tag. Several moments, especially involving the highly emotional and talkative (when not playing dumb) Juan, had me snickering. The closest I've seen from Leone before is The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Speaking of which, I couldn't help but think of it when I saw the dynamic between Juan and John. John's decidedly brainier and smoother, but Juan can still pull a few over on him. The two do develop more of a friendship than Tuco and Blondie, however shaky their agreements.

No, they don't see eye to eye on much. Both have witnessed past revolutions, albeit on different continents, but only John hopes for a good outcome. Juan's experience is that the peasants end up suffering while the intellectuals who stirred them to action profit. He'd much prefer gold to glory.

Once in a while, we're treated to a flashback to John's Ireland, be it in idyllic times or trauma. It helps make him less of an enigma. His morals (and deficits thereof) are more nuanced than Juan's for sure.

Other familiar Leone aspects come into play. That's an Ennio Morricone score if I ever heard one. Sometimes things get a little slow, but I don't mind because of the tension.

Ultimately, I put this ahead of A Fistful of Dollars and Once upon a Time in America. Not the best that any of the famed individuals has offered, but if you usually dig them, you'll probably like DYS.