You figure with a title like "Machine Gun McCain," Giuliano Montaldo's gangster picture would feature some good old fashioned machine gun antics. Well you'd just about figure them wrong because "Machine Gun McCain" is so void of surprises and twists and any interesting characters that it goes downhill from the minute it begins. Riding on the title alone to peak audience interest, Montaldo's film is a rambling often genre confused flick that wastes the talents of John Cassevetes. Cassevetes who play Hank McCain our anti-hero, washes over the film with a very uneven performance. Is he a good guy or a bad guy?

Take Britt Eckland who plays femme fatale Irene Tucker. She has one of the most awkward love scenes I've ever seen as she and McCain get down to their Birthday suits to make love only to see her character struggling to break free from his grasps seconds later. I mean why are we told one thing when the actors do another and why is the screenplay so sloppy, especially when two people worked on it? "Machine Gun McCain" spends the entire 100 minute running time trying to find a proper direction for its cast and fails with great zeal. It's not the worst movie ever made, but if you want to see John Cassevetes or are just the grindhouse aficionado that has to watch every title, this movie may prove to be a perfect time waster.