Review: Two Mules for Sister Sara

Here's my first attempt at a movie review, whoa. I'll be breaking it down into five parts to make it a little easier to write out. I'm no Ebert, that's for sure, but I hope you get something out of it.

At a Glance
"Two Mules for Sister Sara" (1970) was directed by Don Siegel and stars Clint Eastwood as his usual drifter character and Shirley MacLaine as a nun of questionable actions. Clint's character does vaguely break stereotype seeing as he has a legitimate name: Hogan, and he actually has relations with women.
Here's a brief synopsis brought to you by Wikipedia: "A drifter named Hogan spots and saves a naked Sara from being gang-raped by several men whom he shoots and kills. He later learns that she is a nun that is working with a group of Mexican revolutionaries that are fighting the French. When Sara requests that Hogan take her to a Mexican camp, he agrees because he had previously arranged to help the Mexican revolutionaries attack the French garrison in exchange for a portion of the garrison's strongbox if they are successful."

Story and Characters
The premise of a nun and drifter working together provides a fun and often humorous dynamic, particularly when Sara pardons herself and Hogan for drinking, cussing, killing, etc since it is all for a good cause. The one place where the story feels weak is in the reveal of Sara's true occupation. It isn't much of a surprise based on her appearance and actions throughout the majority of the movie. If anything, you may find yourself being surprised when she actually reveals who she is.

Filming and Locations
The movie was filmed on location in Mexico, so there are some lovely landscape shots. However, even though the locations looked good, not much about them really stood out. This may have been due to the camerawork which, though not bad at all, is not particularly creative either. The big battle at the end of the movie looks pretty good, save for a somewhat bizarre shot of an explosion and a really silly looking wound-to-the-face that would have fit in with B horror films a lot better.

Music
Ennio Morricone provides a decent score, but it lacks the flair that many of his other scores had. The opening theme is really awesome, though, and is quite clever. Some of the instruments are made to sound like the hee-hawwing of a mule. Check out the opening here.

Overall
"Two Mules for Sister Sara" is a fun movie, not too complicated or serious, letting you just enjoy the interactions between its titular characters. It's fairly predictable, but comfortably so. You still have the fun of seeing how everything plays out.

Final Verdict: 4/5

P.S. - Dear Clarinet, after we watch "Hot Fuzz," I'll write a review of it just for you.