Dez Segundos de Perigo

This is a really odd film directed by Sam Peckinpah. While there is an almost cult-like aura about him by his fans, this film may upset many of the "Peckinpah-sters" who are expecting the usual Peckinpah style. In essence, the violence is practically gone--no one is killed in the film and the amount of blood shed is very little--though there are a few of the trademark slow-motion shots. In addition, the film is set in the West, somewhat of an obsession for Peckinpah, but in the modern age.

The story is about an aging rodeo star whose better days are far behind. Now he's broke and coming back to visit his home town. The narrative is far from traditional, as not a whole lot really occurs in the film--instead it's like a slice out of the life of the leading man (Steve McQueen) during this small time period of just a few days. Instead, you learn about his rather dysfunctional family--his father (who was also a rodeo star long ago) who STILL needs to grow up, his greedy brother and his long-suffering (and a bit stupid) mother. None of these characters are particularly likable and it's all a bit sad, though it also does seem rather true-life as well. The characters, though horribly flawed, are much more real than you'd find in other films. Too bad, however, that they never do much of anything.

Overall, a very slow-moving film that was obviously a labor of love for the director but which probably won't appeal to most people. Yes, it's a realistic portrait of a strange piece of Americana, but many just won't find much reason to see it--not that it's bad, mind you, it just never rises above the level of "meh...". Still, not a bad little film.

The Wild Bunch, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Major Dundee, and many more films are great views because of writer/director Sam Peckinpah. Add in Steve McQueen, and you have the formula for a movie worth watching multiple times.

I had a personal feeling for this movie, and for McQueen's character. he just couldn't stand being at home and putting up with all the drama. It wasn't that he wanted to go from town to town chasing that elusive 8 seconds, he just felt better under the stars and not having to listen to all the crap that goes with family. You could see his eyes roll as the bickering went on. I certainly empathized with him completely.

A great film about old cowboys, but a better film about family.

How much you enjoy the film overall depends on your interest or affection for the rodeo but there are some really fine performances. McQueen is excellent, a bruised thoughtful performance, but Robert Preston and Ida Lupino really take acting honors as his parents. The scene between them on the stairs is an example of what great actors can do to make characters live on the screen. Something that helps sell the story is that the two of them really look like they could be Steve's parents. Junior's a rambler who is happy to go his own way but finds the modern world getting in the way. A subtle drama of the kind that is rarely made today.

Steve McQueen is my favorite actor. Bullitt is my favorite McQueen movie, but Junior Bonner is my favorite McQueen character. McQueen, as usual (and this is what makes him great), communicates more with silence than in delivering a line. The violence of the rodeo is juxtaposed against one man's unwillingness to let go of a lifestyle that is obviously coming to an end. The open west is giving way to trailers, his parents are separating forever, and his home has become a place for strangers. Junior is aging as an athlete, and as a-no-longer- young man. Even his Cadillac is on the downward side of a once successful career. The split screens and slow motion are interesting without being intrusive. This movie is about the triumph of a man who stays true to his own values, regardless of how irrelevant his environment may soon become. One man CAN make a difference. Steve McQueen was always that one man.

When Robert Preston makes that toast to his grandchildren at some level he knows his best days are behind him. But he's determined to live out his life to the fullest. Drinking, wenching, prospecting for gold and just hanging around the rodeo because it's his way of life.

It's the way of life for his son Steve McQueen and McQueen was 42 years old when Junior Bonner was made. Even if you figure he might be playing younger than his actual age by about five to seven, that's older than Methusaleh in the rodeo game. Especially as McQueen participates in the most dangerous of events.

In the intervening years since Junior Bonner came out, bullriding has spun out on its own as a single event competition and the best in that sport participate in the Professional Bull Riders as opposed to the all around rodeo events as you see depicted in Presscott, Arizona. As I write this review, the leading bull rider in the country right now is 20 year old J.B. Mauney in terms of point standings. The difference between young Mr. Mauney and the character of Junior Bonner is a whole generation. The skill and the know how is the same, the experience is on McQueen's side to be sure. But those cowboys can sustain some serious injuries and at J.B. Mauney's age he is capable of bouncing back a whole lot faster than Junior Bonner.

McQueen knows this, but it's the way of life that he and his father love dearly. They're active, vital, and vibrant men and no one's going to tell them to act their age, least of all Ida Lupino as Preston's wife and McQueen's mother or Joe Don Baker as her other real estate selling son to whose children Preston makes the title toast.

Junior Bonner is skimpy on plot, but long on characterization. Normally that's not something I like, but in this case it fits the film perfectly. The story is simply about a rodeo family's day at the Presscott Frontier Days Rodeo. It's about Lupino and Baker who have aged and accepted that times change and Preston and McQueen who haven't.

Preston's hoping that if McQueen wins some prize money, he'll stake him to a trip to Australia where there's still wild country to tame. McQueen though his best days are behind him, still loves the life and has a personal goal of riding an unridable bull, Sunshine. In fact he requests stock contractor and prime mover at the Frontier Days Rodeo, Ben Johnson, to make sure he draws Sunshine.

McQueen's goals are a longshot, but not unreasonable. Last year's PBR champion was 36 year old Adriano Moraes showing the younger riders the older men still have something. But how much is left in the cup, only the Deity knows.

Sam Peckinpaugh directed the film to perfection capturing the mood and ambiance of the rodeo scene. The casting is also to perfection with folks like Bill McKinney, Dub Taylor, Donald Barry all western regulars giving standout performances. The violence that usually characterizes a Peckinpaugh film is noticeably absent, but the rodeo is a good subject for his patented slow motion takes.

Junior Bonner joins a great pantheon of rodeo films like The Lusty Men, J.W. Coop, and 8 Seconds in depicting the hard, but rewarding life as a rodeo performer. And this review is dedicated to all the cowboys, to the Adriano Moraeses and the J.B. Mauneys who risk life and limb in the dirt arena trying to do their personal best at what they love.