"McQ" is John Wayne's attempt to move away from the western genre with which he was most commonly associated (although he had dipped into other genres along the way). Directed by a 63 year old director (John Sturges), and starring a 66 year old movie star, one can't help feeling that the film has a fairly geriatric air about it. "McQ" seems to takes its inspiration from movies like "Bullitt" and "Dirty Harry", which were big hits around that time. In this one, the plot is pretty similar to "Dirty Harry", and the fact that Wayne's main character is named McQ could possibly be an in-joke, intended to liken him to Steve McQueen (McQueen; McQ; get it??), who starred as Bullitt.<br /><br />Honest, tough Seattle cop Lon McQ (John Wayne) investigates the death of his partner Stan Boyle (William Bryant) and two other police officers. Strangely, McQ's superiors seem reluctant to let him handle the case – but handle it he does, in his typical fist-first, diplomacy-later style! McQ suspects that local hood Manny Santiago (Al Lettieri) is responsible for the killings so he ignores orders to leave Santiago alone and starts to tail his quarry. McQ's unorthodox approach so outrages his bosses that he has to hand in his badge, working almost as a vigilante to crack the case. Among those helping him are ex-junkie Myra (Colleen Dewhurst), private eye Pinky Farrow (David Huddleston) and council official Franklin Toms (Clu Gulager). Eventually, McQ discovers that his deceased partner was caught up in some high-level police corruption, selling seized narcotics back to the drug lords on the streets and pocketing sizable amounts of money in the process. That's why McQ's superiors never wanted him on the case in the first place, as they feared their illegal activities might be exposed if a loose-cannon of a cop like McQ ever caught wind of their plot. Angry and betrayed, McQ sets out to bring down the corrupt cops and drug dealers whose greedy operation caused the death of his colleagues.<br /><br />This is one of Wayne's poorest films, even though it's refreshing to see him in a different sort of movie. For a chance to see him tackling the whole "mean cop" thing in a better film, viewers should seek out "Brannigan" instead. "McQ" has a few moments that are effective, such as an exciting and cleverly edited car chase along a beach, and a claustrophobic action sequence in which McQ is sandwiched in his car between two dump-trucks in a narrow alley way, and almost killed. The calibre of the cast is surprisingly high, too, with such fine supporting actors as Colleen Dewhurst, Al Lettieri, Eddie Albert, Clu Gulager and David Huddleston involved in the mix. Alas, none of them have particularly memorable roles to get their teeth into. In fact, this "unmemorable-ness" extends to the whole film and makes it a turgid, indifferent affair. If you want to see John Wayne in something different from his usual fare, then "McQ" might appeal to you… but everyone else will probably come from the film feeling rather disappointed.