TrueJoshNight
Truly Dreadful Film
Dynamixor
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
ChanFamous
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
Brendon Jones
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
HotToastyRag
Ah, the western spoof genre. It's continually done, because there were so many westerns made from the 1940s-1070s that everyone's so ridiculously tired of them and are now in the mood to laugh at the similarities between every cowboy movie ever made. In The Villian, the handsome cowboy is literally named Handsome Stranger, and the charming damsel in distress is named Charming Jones. Ann-Margret plays Charming, and as in many westerns, she's wearing a form-fitting, cleavage-bearing dress but miraculously isn't taken advantage of by rough-and-tough cowboys. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Handsome, and as in many westerns, he's a reluctant hero who prefers to avoid violence and sex when he can. Kirk Douglas is the title character, the stereotypical bad guy who robs banks and does crazy stunts that would kill a normal person but manages to survive without a scratch in the next scene. You'll probably get a few laughs out of this movie, but mostly it reminded me of a first draft of the Carry On movies, which I found much funnier. Carry on Cleo is one of my favorite spoofs. The Villain is a little too cartoon-y for my taste, but if you like humor that includes sound effects, sped up film, and lots of over-acting, you might find it funny. For a funny western, I love Dirty Dingus Magee.
IndustriousAngel
Cactus Jack has all the ingredients for a cool comedy - Hal Needham at the helm, capable actors (Schwarzenegger can be used very effectively in comedies), gorgeous settings, fun costumes and a nice soundtrack - but after an OK start things get more and more repetitive, predictable and, simply, tedious.The idea of doing a real-life version of a LooneyTunes cartoon is interesting, and Kirk Douglas really tried to breathe some life into his Wile E Coyote, but the dynamic and rhythm are way off - most gags last about five times as long as in the cartoon if not longer - and stretching such a 7 minute cartoon to feature length without adding anything at least resembling a decent story or interesting characters makes Cactus Jack nearly painful to watch.
Paul Magne Haakonsen
I remember seeing this movie when I was a young boy back in the 80's sometime, and I happened to came across it by sheer luck on Amazon, and of course I just had to add it to my DVD collection, because I had nothing but fond memories of this western comedy.So it was with a great sense of nostalgia that I sat down to watch "Cactus Jack" again once the DVD dropped in from Amazon. And it was just every bit as much fun as I remembered it to be back in my youth.The story in "Cactus Jack" is fairly simple, Cactus Jack Slade (played by Kirk Douglas) is chasing after the money, hoping to get it from Charming Jones (played by Ann-Margret) and Handsome Stranger (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Imagine this being a live-action version of the classic Roadrunner cartoon, and you know what you are in for here. And it actually works out well enough.There is a lot of funny moments and situations throughout the movie, lots of slapstick humor here.It was sort of surreal to see Schwarzenegger in that sky-blue outfit though, however, it just added to the comedy and spoof.All in all, "Cactus Jack" is a good comedy, and it is really a treat to see Schwarzenegger in a role like this.
FightingWesterner
Director Hal Needham followed up his box-office hits Smokey And The Bandit and Hooper, with this funny, almost forgotten western comedy, clearly inspired by old Warner Brothers cartoons. I'm a bit surprised that they didn't get sued, as many of the gags here are directly lifted from various Roadrunner and Bugs Bunny shorts!The cast alone is irresistible, with Kirk Douglas intentionally hamming it up as the most evil man in the west and a clueless Arnold Schwartzenegger (in his only western role) unknowingly thwarting both the villainy of Douglas and the sexual advances of a very hot Ann-Margaret.Several great cameos include Jack Elam, Mel Tillis, Ruth Buzzi, Foster Brooks, Strother Martin, and Paul Lynde as a very nervous Indian chief named (appropriately) Nervous Elk.Some favorite gags involve Kirk attempting the old painted-tunnel and glue-on-the-railroad tricks, as well as Schwartzenegger's runaway horse story and the hilarious final scene.Although it's not quite as funny as it was when you were a kid, it's still well worth watching again and again.