Good start, but then it gets ruined

Fresh and Exciting

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

"Mystery Science Theater 3000" was all about making fun of bad movies. And, since they made a bunch of installments of the show, they had to find a lot of terrible films to tear to pieces. Sometimes, however, they took poor to mediocre films and gave them the full treatment--and folks just assumed that the films were trash. And, sadly, I think a lot of people who saw these films chopped up and made fun of then voted on IMDb. This would account for films like "The Girl in Gold Boots" (a poor film, but actually one of the better ones by Ted Mikels) and "Mitchell" making IMDb's infamous Bottom 100 list. "Mitchell" is clearly NOT a terrible film and is decent entertainment. And, as a guy who has seen more bad films that just about anyone, I could probably name 1000 movies worse than this one without even trying.Joe Don Baker plays a cop who likes to play by his own rules. He's honest but tough and often plays the rogue cop--a very, very common 1970s cop film theme. When he investigates the killing of a burglar, the crime scene doesn't look right and Mitchell (Baker) thinks the homeowner killed the thief in cold blood. This seemingly simple case eventually leads to a heroin smuggling ring and ultimately leads to a showdown with the man in charge.I would never call "Mitchell" a good film. It's a brainless time-passer with lots of action and a few good scenes. Brainless because Mitchell has never heard of the Bill of Rights and because a guy is shot in the head at very, very close range and he barely bleeds--when his head should have exploded since it was an AR-15!!

Maybe these flicks are wearing me down. I watched the IMDb rated 3.4 film "Gone With The West" yesterday and I didn't think it was all that bad. I follow it up today with "Mitchell", and even though practically everyone with a review here bashes it for it's insensibility, I actually got a kick out of it. Thats' not to say I didn't use the fast forward button a few times, but I'll do that anyway through most films with senseless chase scenes and slow spots that don't make a difference.Here's the thing - Joe Don Baker is like the Energizer bunny, he just keeps on ticking. Would you rather have a dull, boring cop without charisma, or a dull, boring cop without charisma but wearing all those groovy plaid sport coats? I can't remember the last time I saw one of those, but I might have had one back in the day.Anyway, there's some kind of heroin deal going on, and Mitchell's assigned to the case, more or less to keep him out of the trouble he'd get into by tailing a well connected socialite gangster (John Saxon). But he tails Saxon anyway, along with drug kingpin Cummings (Martin Balsam), who's taking HIS orders from a couple of other higher ups in the heroin chain. You can't fault Mitchell for his inventiveness, I particularly liked the 'smash the goon's hand in the car door' trick; that looked pretty painful. And if I ever see another picture that features a death by dune buggy, I'll know the inspiration was born here.Apart from Linda Evans' hooker falling for a guy like Mitchell, the way he scrapped vehicles like old pairs of socks, and the picture's goofy 'Mitchell' theme song, you know what really freaked me out? How did old Mitch know which switch in the electrical panel would have operated the front gate at the beginning of the story? Then he did it again by hitting the right one to close down the swing doors in Saxon's hallway. I open my panel about once a year when I have to shut something down, and it'll take me a few minutes just to figure out the right one.

When given the awesome challenge and responsibility of making a comment on the extraordinary piece of pure cinematic gold that is "Mitchell," one simply can't just write your basic synopsis of the plot and follow it with a critique of the picture itself. Instead, one must show a little creativity and imagination (two sterling attributes which are richly abundant in this remarkably fine feature) in order to properly give the film itself it's true due. So, I'm going to happily list the many reasons why "Mitchell" is better than "The French Connection."1) Burly, bullfrog-faced 70's B-movie icon Joe Don Baker portrays the scruffy, boozy, blithely amoral and thoroughly unorthodox maverick cop Mitchell with an animal passion and charismatic conviction which makes Gene Hackman's overrated Oscar-winning performance in "French Connection" seem extremely bland and superficial. Moreover, the character of Mitchell clearly influenced such subsequent "you gotta bend the law in order to enforce it" fellow iconoclastic rough-around-the-edges police detectives as Nick Nolte in "48 Hours" and especially Mel Gibson in "Lethal Weapon." 2) The sluggish pacing will give you a profound newfound respect and admiration for the stirring spectacle that is watching grass grow. 3) Both John Saxon as a suavely slimy lawyer and Martin Balsam as a dastardly dope-dealing businessman sneer and leer with a lip-smacking go-for-it panache that's an absolute joy to behold. 4) The adversarial relationship between Mitchell and his huffy disapproving superior boldly explores heretofore untouched terrain in a cop action flick. 5) Linda Evans as a gorgeous high class hooker bears a striking resemblance to Cathy Lee Crospy. Don't miss the post-coital scene which shows Mitchell kissing Linda's bare feet; I'm sure this particular moment is wholly accountable for Quentin Tarantino's foot fetish. Furthermore, the Patsy Kensit gratuitous love interest character in "Lethal Weapon 2" was obviously patterned after Linda Evans' role in "Mitchell." 6) The choppy editing forsakes a steady snappy rhythm for a herky-jerky carelessly slapped together quality that's bound to make you queasy. Kudos are also in order for beautiful cinematography which sharply photographs the picture with a painter's discerning eye for breathtaking poetic imagery. 7) The insanely funky score cuts a righteous get-down groove which makes that over-hyped "Theme from 'Shaft'" sound like insipid elevator music. Better yet, we are further entreated to a couple of wonderfully corny country and western songs which are deftly drawled by the sublime Hoyt Axton ("Hey hey hey my Mitchell"). 8) The infrequent, but nonetheless still thrilling action scenes are staged with a rip-snorting aplomb and consummate expertise that makes John Woo seem dull and uninspired. The guy who takes a spill out of a helicopter and falls all of five lousy feet into the ocean below has to be one of the single most exciting and impressive stunts I have ever had the pleasure to see. All in all, as this illustrious list quite persuasively proclaims "Mitchell" is without a doubt a shamefully unsung and unheralded work of tremendous art that future generations of film fans will watch in total awe and amazement.

Chances are......you saw the MST version. So have I, but do want to get the original. I still expect it to be cheese. But what fun cheese it is, Joe Don Baker IS Mitchell, who seems to solve crimes by accident. Nobody like him, he doesn't like anybody and yet he gets the job done. Will booze stop him? NO!! Not so bad-ass mobsters? NO!! John Saxon?? NO!! Merlin Olsen comes close but even misses the mark (send him a pick me up bouquet or something) And Greta who keeps sleeping with him despite being busted constantly. Who does like Mitchell? The MST fans themselves. If it wasn't for them this film would be nowhere to be found, rotting away in 99 cent bins at the video store until there are no videotapes left (you think that they would release this on DVD without MST?)