The Mule

Stephen Campbell

July 12, 2019

7/10

**_Laconic, measured and easy to digest, although it could have done with more substance_** > _How many addicts are out on the street simply because Mr. Sharp brought the cocaine here?_ - Sam Dolnick quoting AUSA Chris Graveline; "The Sinaloa Cartel's 90-Year-Old Drug Mule"; _New York Times_ (June 11, 2014) 63 years since he first appeared on-screen (an uncredited role in Jack Arnold's 1955 _Revenge of the Creature_), _The Mule_ is 88-year-old Clint Eastwood's first acting role since Ro…

Peter McGinn

April 5, 2020

9/10

I wonder if Clint Eastwood is one of the few directors who could have gotten this movie made. It took me a while to get around to watching it, partly due to some of the negative buzz I heard out there in the Interworld. I suspect I liked this movie for the same reason a lot of the bad buzzy folks hated it. How many respected directors have the star power to get a movie made that, even with a violent Mexican drug cartel involved in the plot, turns out to be a thoughtful, mostly gentle charact…

r96sk

February 14, 2022

7/10

This be good. I enjoyed <em>'The Mule'</em>. It's an entertaining and well paced flick from 2018, as Clint Eastwood fully stars in a film for the first time since 2012's <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/trouble-with-the-curve/" rel="nofollow">Trouble with the Curve</a>'</em> - and first also as director since 2008's <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/gran-torino/" rel="nofollow">Gran Torino</a>'</em>. The 1930-born actor still has it! There's a good cast behind Eastwood, wi…

CinemaSerf

March 28, 2022

7/10

Clint Eastwood takes on the character of "Earl Stone", an elderly gent who takes great pride in his award winning flowers but one who is broke; facing the loss of his home and his business. He has to earn some cash, so takes on a job as a delivery driver. He's a Korean War vet, so whilst never quite sure what he is "delivering", he knows full well that the less police involvement with his antics, the better. Soon his success snowballs and he gets himself an unwanted minder. As his money worries …

GenerationofSwine

January 12, 2023

10/10

I never understood how people disagree with giving a movie either 10 or only 1 star here. Either it does it's job or it doesn't. The Mule is the kind of movie that my dad, rest his soul, would beg me to see in the theater with him, and then rave about after. A lonely old man that breaks a few laws in order to provide for his family and, in the process, gets himself into trouble with some bad guys. And it's all done without over-the-top action and special effects, making for a film that …

Wuchak

June 23, 2023

7/10

**_Good enough Eastwood flick based on a true story_** A 90 years-old horticulturalist and war veteran (Clint Eastwood) inadvertently becomes a courier for a Mexican drug cartel. Will he continue to neglect his family? “The Mule” (2018) was directed by Eastwood and inspired by the real-life Leo Sharp. There are similarities to “Gran Torino” (2008), but not as much action. Long stretches naturally involve Earl Stone (Eastwood) driving the highways of America. But things perk up in the secon…

Dr_Nostromo

December 15, 2025

7/10

74/100 A fictionalized biography of Leo Sharp, the oldest drug mule in history. When you think drugs, cartels, mules, etc., you think action crime thriller. This is not that. This is a very personal drama about a financially strapped elderly man (played with absolute mastery by Clint Eastwood) who discovers that all he has to do to make a lot of money was to drive packages around ...at least at first. Handled extraordinarily well with some excellent performances, the portrayals are deep and h…