“Bullitt” is an atrocious crime movie that leaves no impression on the viewer; while watching, you struggle to remember what happened so much as two minutes ago. I loved “Chinatown” and I like a whole bunch of other crime movies such as “Dirty Harry”, “Police Story” and “Cobra” but this one does nothing for me.

Steve McQueen (“The Great Escape”) is policeman Frank Bullitt, he’s supposed to be tough but the filmmakers give him nothing interesting to do. He’s in charge of witness protection case and when the witness and a policeman are shot, with their lives hanging in the balance, Bullitt sets out to find who did this.

Steve McQueen looks bored in this film as his eyes dart around the room and he delivers his lines with no conviction and he isn’t alone but how could anyone have conviction when the script is this weak. One of the huge pros of a cop movie is the classic arguments between the tough copper and his superior/s and that had been done with cowboys in many Westerns and even Clint Eastwood’s “Coogan’s Bluff” had got around to doing it with the police force. I don't think Frank Bullitt has any appeal whatsoever.

Lots of people talk about the car chase in this film but it’s mediocre at best, the “James Bond” films had already come out and I know that would have had a bigger budget and I’m not saying I want missiles and ejector seats, but how much does it cost to drive through a couple of boxes? “Bullitt” is a slow and totally unmemorable crime film and when you can’t even enjoy the main character, you know there is a huge issue. Even if this was an early police film, there are still lots of Westerns that had similar characters. I don’t see the attraction with this film at all.