I'm giving this movie a high score because I love Bronson and because I love the ideas it explores. I have to admit, though, that while I really enjoy the movie, I enjoy it in spite of some pretty clunky film-making. There's a reason why Writer-Director Frank D Gilroy has only directed seven films in thirty years--he kinda sucks at it. Even though Gilroy's ideas about celebrity and the vast grey area between legends and lies are wonderful and thought-provoking, his way of handling dialog and actors is painful. How such a potentially lively story could be made so leaden is beyond me. The only time the movie hits the right notes is during the opening sequences with the outlaws. The rest of the film can't decide if it's "The Shakiest Gun in the West," "Harold and Maude on the Range" or an amateur stage play. Except for Bronson, the actors always sound like they're reading their lines for the first time. If only, IF ONLY a REAL filmmaker had been given this same script! Imagine what Altman or Michael Ritchie or Robert Aldrich could have done with this very same screenplay! If nothing else, I think all three--even Altman--would have picked up the freakin' pace.
Even having said all that, I still enjoy the film every time I see it, for Bronson and for the inventiveness of the plot. But I could never bring myself to say it was actually a good movie. However (and this is something my wife, who happily watches one soul-draining "makeover" show after another, will never understand) this is a film that at least TRIED to be something special. Gilroy was TRYING to hit a high mark. He failed to even come close, of course, but he did try! And that's more than 95% of today's cookie-cutter copycat movies and TV shows even attempt! I can appreciate that.
Even having said all that, I still enjoy the film every time I see it, for Bronson and for the inventiveness of the plot. But I could never bring myself to say it was actually a good movie. However (and this is something my wife, who happily watches one soul-draining "makeover" show after another, will never understand) this is a film that at least TRIED to be something special. Gilroy was TRYING to hit a high mark. He failed to even come close, of course, but he did try! And that's more than 95% of today's cookie-cutter copycat movies and TV shows even attempt! I can appreciate that.