The difference between this and all those “Dollars” pictures is that Clint has gone and refined the art of steel-eyed enigma. Eastwood directed this one himself and, like his earlier Play Misty for Me, it shows he has some savvy behind the camera.

Eastwood holds fast to the rebel spirit of the spaghetti Westerns and revisionist "New Hollywood" Westerns of the previous decade, but packages it in a film that's slicker and more mainstream-friendly.

As a director, Eastwood is not as good as he seems to think he is. As an actor, he is probably better than he allows himself to be.

...a well-worn yet promising setup that is, for the most part, employed to uninvolving and rather tiresome effect by Eastwood...