4 out of 5

Director: Peter Yates

Yeah, I get it now. Watch this, realize it was 1968, and then wonder to yourself how billions of films since this have gotten it all wrong. Bullitt is a cop thriller but from the opening titles you know youre in for something more. Steve McQueen plays the lead, tasked with babysitting a gangster until he can stand trial. Things go wrong and the gangster is shot… but all is not what it seems. The how of getting to the why is very satisfying here, with terse dialogue and pauses before storms (like the famous car chase, which is, indeed, worth its fame). The plot actually takes surprising turns and its not all just grit and glory: McQueen isnt a cop-on-the-edge so much as a focused cop, waiting to speak until something really needs speaking, and because this was years before the genre would need explosions to justify itself, we get several well-done characters moments before pieces start coming together. Theres a couple cooler-than-cool moments and it doesnt truly transcend anything in the sense that feel or connect with a character or moment, but Bullitt is truly a heckuva film, and kicks the pants off many thrill-rides that have been made in the forty years since.