Film Assessment: Final Man Standing (1996)


Style: Motion  

Director: Walter Hill  
Starring: Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Bruce Dern  

Working Time: 101 minutes  

Synopsis: West Texas within the Nineteen Thirties, through the prohibition period. Mercenary drifter John Smith (Bruce Willis) arrives on the small and largely deserted city of Jericho. He finds the Doyle (Irish) and Strozzi (Italian) gangs locked in a battle for management of the unlawful booze commerce from Mexico. A dual-handgun professional, Smith decides to revenue by promoting his providers to either side. The ineffective Sheriff Ed Galt (Bruce Dern) does little to cease him, however Doyle’s Tommy gun wielding murderer Hickey (Christopher Walken) doesn’t recognize Smith’s interventions.

What Works Effectively: This credited remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo (which was additionally unofficially remade as A Fistful Of {Dollars}) enjoys a lost-in-time setting of a middle-of-nowhere near-ghost city predominantly occupied by gang members. Majestic cinematography (by Lloyd Ahern), soulful music (by Ry Cooder), and natty outfits add texture to the aesthetics and the quest-for-a-cause theme. Director Walter Hill phases the brief and sharp motion scenes with balletic weapons a-blazing ferocity.

What Does Not Work As Effectively: The characters seem to lack perception and soullessly undergo the pre-ordained motions, not helped by extreme narration over-reaching for noir cynicism. Christopher Walken and Bruce Dern are given comparatively little to do, leaving different, much less fascinating solid members to spar towards Bruce Willis’ stranger-in-a-strange-land. The narrative move is sometimes uneven, suggesting some necessary materials was deserted on the modifying room ground.

Key Quote:

Hickey (to Smith): I do not wish to die in Texas. Chicago, perhaps… however not Texas. You’ll be able to meet me there in case you like.

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