A mysterious drifter, identifying himself as John Smith (Bruce Willis), arrives in the small town of Jericho, at the Mexican border. As the city is controlled by two warring gangs, Strozzi's (Ned Eisenberg) and Doyle's (David Patrick Kelly), Smith starts playing both gangs against each other as a means to earn some cash as a hired gun.
Yet another adapted version of Akira Kurosawa's 'Yojimbo', this time turned into a gangster film (with a touch of western). It is proof of how good that story was that, decades and multiple re-adaptations later (my favorite being Sergio Leone's 'A Fistful of Dollars'), the story still manages to be interesting and entertaining.
The movie is well directed by Walter Hill, who manages to give it a very stylish yet desolate look. The cast is absolutely perfect, everyone looking and acting their roles to perfection; in special: the gang bosses, Christopher Walken as Doyle's right-hand man, Bruce Dern as the sheriff and William Sanderson as the bartender and Willis' helping hand.
It is a very good action film, never boring, with very good dialogues and very stylish and entertaining action scenes which are made to be quite similar to the old Italian westerns' shoot-outs.
Speaking of Italian Westerns, Bruce Willis does his best Clint Eastwood impersonation (he is, after all, playing the same role Eastwood did in Leone's film). He does the eye-squinting, often silent and very, very muffled whispering-talking with a good deal of success; however, he often comes across as too silent, being difficult to hear him sometimes (though that is really my only complaint regarding his performance). Christopher Walken too, though his character at least is given a reason for doing that.
Unlike Gian Maria Volonté or Tatsuya Nakadai, Christopher Walken actually manages to upstage Bruce Willis' nameless protagonist when in scene together. Bruce Dern and Ned Eisenberg, likewise, steal the show in their scenes.
Yet another adapted version of Akira Kurosawa's 'Yojimbo', this time turned into a gangster film (with a touch of western). It is proof of how good that story was that, decades and multiple re-adaptations later (my favorite being Sergio Leone's 'A Fistful of Dollars'), the story still manages to be interesting and entertaining.
The movie is well directed by Walter Hill, who manages to give it a very stylish yet desolate look. The cast is absolutely perfect, everyone looking and acting their roles to perfection; in special: the gang bosses, Christopher Walken as Doyle's right-hand man, Bruce Dern as the sheriff and William Sanderson as the bartender and Willis' helping hand.
It is a very good action film, never boring, with very good dialogues and very stylish and entertaining action scenes which are made to be quite similar to the old Italian westerns' shoot-outs.
Speaking of Italian Westerns, Bruce Willis does his best Clint Eastwood impersonation (he is, after all, playing the same role Eastwood did in Leone's film). He does the eye-squinting, often silent and very, very muffled whispering-talking with a good deal of success; however, he often comes across as too silent, being difficult to hear him sometimes (though that is really my only complaint regarding his performance). Christopher Walken too, though his character at least is given a reason for doing that.
Unlike Gian Maria Volonté or Tatsuya Nakadai, Christopher Walken actually manages to upstage Bruce Willis' nameless protagonist when in scene together. Bruce Dern and Ned Eisenberg, likewise, steal the show in their scenes.