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Nice effects though.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I saw this as an MST3K episode and to me, the three guys commenting on everything is really annoying, not to mention that they shortened it and kept adding little skits of their own. This all rather ruined the experience. With that in mind, I don't think there is actually that much of a movie to ruin.The story of Mitchell, a boozed up, sleazy, play-by-his-own-rules cop fighting mafia type criminals seems more suitable for a low budget TV show than anything else. The poor acting, the lackluster action, the cliché story line, it' all there, just cobble together an episode each week and you have your show.

There are so many things to love about Mitchell - the dune buggy duel, the air tank helicopter attack, the extremely dubious theme song and Mitchell's heated argument with a kid who mistakes him for an insurance salesman - all come readily to mind. The fact that Mitchell is currently in IMDb's bottom 100 is a disgrace. I blame the morons at MST3K and the sheep who automatically assume that every film "lucky" enough to be pilloried by them is automatically atrocious.Mitchell is a mystifying mix of humour and action, all held together by one of cinema's more unlikely heroes. If Forrest Gump gave up table tennis and joined the police force, he would turn out something like Mitchell. I'm not really sure whether Joe Don Baker is giving a sensitive portrayal of a retarded law enforcement official or if Mitchell is just an eccentric with a warped sense of humour. Whatever the case may be, there have not been too many police protagonists like him. Mitchell basically goes through life getting on everyone's nerves and destroying police property. Nothing changes when Mitchell becomes embroiled in an organised crime syndicate's plan to import heroin. Before too long our hero becomes a target but these hit men soon discover that although Mitchell might look and act like an incompetent fool, he sure knows how to kick butt.The film's plot might leave something to be desired, but this film comes into its own with its bizarre action sequences. The basic shooting action is well orchestrated and there are several exciting car chases. However, it is the almost surreal dune buggy assassination attempt and helicopter battering ram sequence that linger in my mind. These moments represent everything I love about this most unusual film - they are defiantly unorthodox, exciting and highly amusing all at once. The film's magnificent set pieces are balanced by small touches of irreverence, which I equally value. I'm talking about the hilarious Mitchell theme song that plays during a love making scene, complete with lyrics about Mitchell being a hero "like the ones on your TV screen". Then there is Mitchell cursing at the child who mistakes him for an insurance man ("I hate your mother!"), the old lady he involves in the heroin bust and Linda Evan's bizarre cameo as Mitchell's prostitute love interest. I'm really not sure what she saw in him, particularly with his habit of busting her for drug possession.Mitchell is blessed with fine, arresting might be more accurate, performances. Joe Don Baker has become something of a trash icon with his unconventional portrayal of the title character. Mr Cummings, the villain, is entertainingly portrayed by Martin Balsam. Cummings' butler, memorably played by Merlin Olsen, is sufficiently demented to score a place in the stupid villain hall of fame, while Linda Evans has one of her more enjoyable film roles as the prostitute with a soft spot for the intellectually challenged. The direction is lively and the film is well paced. The action sequences are well handled and the body count is admirably high.I'm not sure how you can watch Mitchell and not enjoy it. It's time to switch of the inane MST3K commentary and get correct. Mitchell is a non-stop entertainment machine. It's not his fault that he looks like he should be sitting on a park bench eating a box of chocolates.

While this is a regrettable and wholly forgettable movie... there is the briefest of scenes when the bad guys send Linda Evans... playing the part of a $1,000 a night prostitute to Bakers apartment with the idea that she will keep him busy for the night and persuade him to drop the case. She arrives unannounced at his door in a slinky dress and boots to Baker's just stepped out of the shower in a towel and revolver. He offers her something to drink, and being a manly man...only has beer to offer which she accepts while sitting on the couch. Baker, standing over her pours the beer into a glass (she is a lady after all) and while observing her lovely figure overflows the glass and pours beer down her legs and boots to which he says.. "Oh, I guess the beer got excited.. do you want me to get you a towel?" Linda eyes him back shaking the beer from her boots and asks "Do you want to lick it off?" I don't remember the rest of the movie after that point as I lost concentration and was never able to get past that part.

A strange choice for Joel's final episode of MST3K, but it's hard to imagine what would be a more appropriate choice. Maybe one of the Russo-Finnish things they covered, like "Sinbad", or "The Day the Earth Froze" (to end on a high note), or "Monster-A-Go-Go" (which embodies the essence of all the crap that MST existed to make fun of.)I understand why some people don't like Joe Don Baker movies, but my own judgments of his films are influenced memories of one of my best friends in college (since passed away, alas). My friend was an older ex-Army sergeant who was a lot like Baker in many ways, and who would undoubtedly see a lot of himself in Baker's screen persona. A couple of tours of duty in the Army as an enlisted man and non-com had turned him into a self-described "FFS" (Fat F***ing Sergeant): an overweight, dyspeptic, burned out, cynical, hard drinking sad sack. But if you got to know him and got past the outer shell, he was one of the best friends a person could ask for; intelligent, loyal, generous, kind, and hard-working to the point of being a workaholic.I think that my friend would look at Baker's character in this film (and in "Final Justice") and see Mitchell in the same way he saw himself: someone who doesn't seem at all glamorous or fancy, but still can do whatever it takes to get the job done.And that's the whole point of Baker's character in "Mitchell": he doesn't look like anyone's idea of an 'action hero', but underneath the flab and the bad attitude is an incorruptible 'real man' who can kick the pretty boys' butts when the chips are down and who stays the course in spite of every obstacle and distraction that would stop a lesser, 'metrosexual' blow comb user. And if the movie does anything well, it at least gets this point across. It seems to me that Joel and the gang took any excuse to hammer on Baker when the he and his movie weren't really any worse than most of the stuff that came out at the time. In other words, they struck an attitude and then made up 'straw man' targets to attack to justify their attitude, hoping that the sheer venom of their rhetoric would keep the audience from actually making their own decisions...just like Dennis Miller does in his rants. Baker is somewhat heavy, yes, but he's no Charles Durning or Sidney Greenfield (two actors who you DID expect to have a coronary in any given scene). And his character is somewhat unkempt, but the whole beer/baby oil/revulsion thing they paint for him is at least three notches worse than what the movie presents. You don't believe for a moment that Linda Evans would ever go to bed with Mitchell, but OTOH the results wouldn't be nearly so revolting as Joel and the Bots would have you believe.So no, not a good film by any means. But approach it with an open mind and you'll have a watchable cop flick with a twist on the usual 'action hero' casting and formula.