Rage (1972)

Admirable film.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Scrappy, ultimately pointless scare-tactics drama with George C. Scott playing a rancher who, along with his son, is accidentally sprayed with toxic chemicals by the military while on a camp-out. Scott made his directorial debut here and does a fine job handling the actors, as well as himself. Unfortunately, Scott's continuity as a filmmaker is spotty; worse, his vision of this material is singularly unimaginative, with routine action and set-ups which don't involve the viewer. The anti-military undermining isn't so much provocative as it is half-baked, and the narrative of the film strays. Martin Sheen, Richard Basehart and Barnard Hughes are all worth-watching here, and Scott as always is a magnetic screen performer, but this 'message film' is awfully tepid. ** from ****

While on a camping trip, Wyoming rancher Dan Logan (George C. Scott) and his son are inadvertently exposed to a secret Army chemical. Both of them end up the hospital and are lied to about their condition by a mysterious doctor (Martin Sheen) who is hoping to protect this top secret project. Of course, when Logan does find out he goes into a slow burning rage and kills everyone in sight. This relentlessly bleak thriller marked the first and only directorial feature from actor George C. Scott. He actually has quite a good eye and captures the Wyoming landscape beautifully with some well orchestrated helicopter shots. One might wonder if Scott was also crafting an anti-war parable. In the end, no one responsible for orchestrating the project has been killed and only innocent underlings have suffered Scott's rage. The script by Philip Friedman and Dan Kleinman marks their only work and it is too bad. It features an anti-authoritarian "don't trust the government" tone and pulls no punches (Scott's 12 year old son dies in the first half hour and the film ends with Scott suffering the same fate. Imagine that happening today).

.... But the problem with RAGE is that it`s all a little too simple !!!!! SPOILERS !!!!! . Let`s examine the plot in detail . Farmer Dan Logan and his son are out in the countryside when a military helicopter accidently contaminates the pair with poison . His son dies so Logan goes on a sabotage spree against the company responsible for manufacturing the poison before dying . There that`s the plot . I`ve tried to make it sound sophisticated and complex but I can`t probably because it`s not a complicated , sophisticated plot . It`s also rather dated too since it was made in the wake of the Vietnam war hence its view on the government and the military being utter pigs . It also features a scene where a cat is shot dead by Logan which unless your catchphrase is " I taught I thaw a puddy cat " doesn`t endear him to anyone even if his son has died a tragic death

George C Scott stars and makes his directorial debut in this tense but ultimately pointless drama about a peaceful rancher who goes on a rampage of revenge after a botched military nerve-gas experiment conducted over his land leads to the death of his young son. You can feel Scott's character's frustration as he's lied to and stone-walled from every angle by the military bureaucrats who want to cover up the incident. Scott knows how to keep things moving and shows some stylish touches in the director's chair, but he can't keep the ending from being disappointing and unsatisfying. Still, all said, it's a fairly absorbing ride while it lasts. It's a movie that will likely stay with you long after the end credits roll.