the title, the explosions

Rating: 7/10 (18 August 2019)

In Revolutionary Mexico, Juan Miranda (Rod Steiger) boards a passing coach. He is constantly insulted by the rich passengers for being a peasant. The coach is stopped by bandits and Miranda turns out to be their ruthless leader. John H. Mallory (James Coburn) passes by on his motorcycle. The explosive expert is an Irish Republican wanted by the British government. Miranda is awestruck by his explosives and sees him as the key to breaking into the Mesa Verde National Bank. To Miranda's horror, the money is not there and all he finds are political prisoners. He becomes an unintentional revolutionary hero.
First, let's talk about the title. I like the Dynamite title which would work better as a sequel. The Duck title is stupid and relegates it to a bad B-movie. It's not necessarily the best line anyways. It stuck out like a sore thumb in the movie. It sounds like a TV edit for Duck, You Fcker. The Once title fits the Leone trilogy but it should be called Once Upon a Time in Mexico. The movie's main drawback may be that the bridge is actually its high point in terms of violence and dramatic flourish. It's those two men against the world. It's visually compelling. It doesn't get better than that. Certainly, the train explosion looks very miniature. I wonder why they couldn't do an actual derailment since the train wreckage seems to be very vast. Maybe it's an old wreckage. At least, the bridge demolition looks very real and very amazing. The actors are good. I like Steiger. There is a mixture of humor and violence. It's a Sergio Leone special.