You could say I'm a considerably huge Clint Eastwood fan, I celebrate the man's whole career and love most of his work. As a director, I think he's been solid overall, making a handful of classic films along the way. As watchable as it is, The Mule is not one of them. It could be the last big thing we see from Eastwood's career, and if so, then it's not a bad note to go out on, but it's not his best, and it doesn't have to be. He's proven himself a hundred times over, and this is the film he wanted to make. The Mule is a fine movie to watch, and Eastwood plays a very subdued character, unlike his role in Gran Torino where he still had shades of his bad boy past. He's softer, he's passive, he's what you expect a man of this age to be...and in that way, he played it perfectly.

A marketing campaign coming in at the 12th hour and a film that's still been surprisingly hidden by Warner Bros, The Mule could be a fitting end to a storied Hollywood career from Clint Eastwood. In many ways mirroring his life, The Mule gives insight into Eastwood's inner psyche, as he has navigated being an in demand actor for over 60 years whilst having a large family to look after as well. So if you're looking at the film in that way, it's a sharp and poignant apology Eastwood is sending to his family after all these years. It's not a perfect film, but it's tightly directed, at times brilliantly intense, and even emotionally moving. Even if it is a ultimately predictable and unsurprising drama. If it is Eastwood's last hoorah, it's been one hell of a run.

7.7/10

I had never heard of Leo Sharp before watching "The Mule". What a story. Clint Eastwood (who also directed) plays a fictionalized version of Sharp, smuggling drugs for a cartel partly because it enables him to spend the money benevolently. These moral conundrums arise a lot.

It was a little weird in some scenes, seeing Eastwood surrounded by women a fraction of his age; probably wishful thinking on his part. Even so, the movie shows how the old man got more and more into the business, resulting in some tense incidents. In addition to Eastwood, there's good support from Laurence Fishburne, Bradley Cooper, Dianne Wiest, Andy Garcia and Taissa Farmiga.