Movie Review: Last Man Standing (1996)

Genre: Action  

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

Running Time: 101 minutes  

Synopsis: West Texas in the 1930s, during the prohibition era. Mercenary drifter John Smith (Bruce Willis) arrives at the small and mostly abandoned town of Jericho. He finds the Doyle (Irish) and Strozzi (Italian) gangs locked in a battle for control of the illegal booze trade from Mexico. A dual-handgun expert, Smith decides to profit by selling his services to both sides. The ineffective Sheriff Ed Galt (Bruce Dern) does little to stop him, but Doyle's Tommy gun wielding assassin Hickey (Christopher Walken) does not appreciate Smith's interventions.

What Works Well: This credited remake of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (which was also unofficially remade as A Fistful Of Dollars) enjoys a lost-in-time setting of a middle-of-nowhere near-ghost town 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 stages the short and sharp action scenes with balletic guns a-blazing ferocity.

What Does Not Work As Well: The characters appear to lack belief and soullessly go through the pre-ordained motions, not helped by excessive narration over-reaching for noir cynicism. Christopher Walken and Bruce Dern are given relatively little to do, leaving other, less interesting cast members to spar against Bruce Willis' stranger-in-a-strange-land. The narrative flow is occasionally choppy, suggesting some important material was abandoned on the editing room floor.

Key Quote:

Hickey (to Smith): I don't want to die in Texas. Chicago, maybe... but not Texas. You can meet me there if you like.



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