A familiar story, well executed.
For me the key with this film is not that it's basically been done before, but (as with any remake, 're-imagining,' or sequel)whether it succeeds in its own right as a good film and a good story. I'd say yes to both, in this case.
Bruce Willis is a good actor, often unfairly pigeonholed as one of limited range. He acquits himself well in this piece, as do most of the other lead parts. Christopher Walken, a phenomenon and one that elevates even substandard fare, is great in this as yet another over-the-top villain, albeit a softly-spoken one. Some of the supporting actors vary a bit but, as an ensemble, it's all fine. The cinematography is great.
The story? Well, as soon as I watched the trailer, before playing the film, I knew it was "Yojimbo" revisited. Of course, Walter Hill (like many, a fervent admirer of Kurosawa) makes no secret of this and the story is credited to the writers of that influential Japanese film. Indeed, I have a very strong feeling that the rain sequence in this film (one noted on the boards here..and, yes, it certainly does rain in US deserts)is tribute to Kurosawa, because it seems like it rains on most Kurosawa films, especially during heavy action pieces. If you've perused IMDb regarding this film at all you'll already know that this is derived from that Kurosawa film as well as Sergio Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars" that, in turn, was basically a remake of "Yojimbo," Kurosawa's masterpiece in itself basically lifted from a book or books by Dashiell Hammett. So the story's hardly original but, to be fair, neither was that of the two films to which everyone compares this piece and, indeed, the story's such a timeless one that it's likely been written down or part of oral traditions many more times than we know of.
One thing is apparent in comparing this film to "Yojimbo" and even Leone's film: the humor is much less apparent. In this, if nothing else, the edge goes to the earlier films. Certainly, with no offense intended to Messrs Willis or Eastwood, Toshiro Mifune was a powerful actor and it'd be hard to top his performance in anything. Still, this is a worthy effort, with the firepower amped up considerably, and worth a look even to fervent admirers of directors Kurosawa and Leone.
Besides, Christopher Walken going nuts with a tommygun? That's classic cinema, right there...
For me the key with this film is not that it's basically been done before, but (as with any remake, 're-imagining,' or sequel)whether it succeeds in its own right as a good film and a good story. I'd say yes to both, in this case.
Bruce Willis is a good actor, often unfairly pigeonholed as one of limited range. He acquits himself well in this piece, as do most of the other lead parts. Christopher Walken, a phenomenon and one that elevates even substandard fare, is great in this as yet another over-the-top villain, albeit a softly-spoken one. Some of the supporting actors vary a bit but, as an ensemble, it's all fine. The cinematography is great.
The story? Well, as soon as I watched the trailer, before playing the film, I knew it was "Yojimbo" revisited. Of course, Walter Hill (like many, a fervent admirer of Kurosawa) makes no secret of this and the story is credited to the writers of that influential Japanese film. Indeed, I have a very strong feeling that the rain sequence in this film (one noted on the boards here..and, yes, it certainly does rain in US deserts)is tribute to Kurosawa, because it seems like it rains on most Kurosawa films, especially during heavy action pieces. If you've perused IMDb regarding this film at all you'll already know that this is derived from that Kurosawa film as well as Sergio Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars" that, in turn, was basically a remake of "Yojimbo," Kurosawa's masterpiece in itself basically lifted from a book or books by Dashiell Hammett. So the story's hardly original but, to be fair, neither was that of the two films to which everyone compares this piece and, indeed, the story's such a timeless one that it's likely been written down or part of oral traditions many more times than we know of.
One thing is apparent in comparing this film to "Yojimbo" and even Leone's film: the humor is much less apparent. In this, if nothing else, the edge goes to the earlier films. Certainly, with no offense intended to Messrs Willis or Eastwood, Toshiro Mifune was a powerful actor and it'd be hard to top his performance in anything. Still, this is a worthy effort, with the firepower amped up considerably, and worth a look even to fervent admirers of directors Kurosawa and Leone.
Besides, Christopher Walken going nuts with a tommygun? That's classic cinema, right there...