It must have seemed like a good movie at the time. When you’re talking about “old” movies (essentially, any movie made in the 20th century), there are essentially two types—those that seem like they were made today but situated in another time period, and those that seem like they were made in another time period. The first group consists of the timeless classics that are just as impactful now as they were then, if not more so. The second group consists of old movies. This film belongs to the second group. It’s not terrible, but it is considerably dated, with a slow pace and yet little characterization beyond the stereotypical. “Cool” Steve McQueen plays a police detective called “Bullitt” who is charged with protecting an important witness against organized crime. This film has Hollywood’s first official car chase, but it’s pedestrian by today’s standards (“pedestrian,” “car chase,” get the clever word play?). “The French Connection” was released only three years later but is light years ahead, ushering in the modern era of realistic and pulse-pounding crime thrillers. “Bullitt,” despite having “Cool” Steve, is an old-fashioned procedural belonging to a prehistoric era of police dramas.