Glimpses of something, but ultimately a mess...

Rating: 5/10 (3 June 2018)

I read that Leone only made "Duck, You Sucker" because he couldn't make what he really wanted to do ("Once Upon a Time in America") due to various issues with funding and rights to the material. I don't think his heart was really in this one. The film lacks the careful craftsmanship that his other films have. Perhaps there is a diamond in here somewhere, something that others are seeing, but it wasn't polished enough to be clear to me.
The best Leone films are very deliberate. Almost nothing is wasted, every shot and scene has a purpose and every shot looks like a professional photograph. I cannot say the same about "Duck, You Sucker." The filmmaking here seems a bit tired. A lot of effort was obviously put into special effects and explosions, and I think that dragged down the rest. Call it the "George Lucas Effect." I had no idea Leone pioneered that too.
What makes the other Sergio Leone films special to me is that they are in many ways "films about films." They offer a stylized look into American culture from a very European perspective. If that's present here in "Duck, you Sucker," it went over my head.