The Big Combo

There's no lack of film-noir films, and the more I watch, the more they start to look alike. That is no doubt a blessing for fans of the genre, not so much for someone like me, who doesn't really care for classic cinema and isn't too taken with the US crime genre. In other words, The Big Combo was fighting an uphill battle.

The story is basic noir fare, about a police detective trailing Mr Brown, a crime boss. When he fails to get close to him, his next bet is to go after the boss' girlfriend Susan. Meanwhile, Mr Brown suspects Susan of wanting to leave him, so he asks two of his trusted companions to keep an eye on her.

The Big Combo is true genre fodder. Men in raincoats and hats yapping away for half the runtime, a dame messing things up, and a gritty crime setting, so we can have some pistols in there too. It's just way too focused on characters and narrative for me, too slow and too uneventful. Not my cup of tea.