Director: Walter Hill
Starring: Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Michael Ironside, Maria Conchita Alonso, Rip Torn
Running Time: 104 minutes
Synopsis: Jack Benteen (Nick Nolte) is the Texas Ranger in El Paso. Across the border, his childhood friend Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe) is controlling the illegal drug trade, protected by an army of thugs. A shadowy group of ex-soldiers under the command of Major Hackett (Michael Ironside) arrives in town on a bank heist mission. Jack warns Cash to abandon his criminal ways, but instead Cash targets Jack's girlfriend Sarita (Maria Conchita Alonso), leading to violent showdowns.
What Works Well: Director Walter Hill transposes traditional Western fundamentals to a more modern setting, with The Wild Bunch a main source of inspiration. This is an action-packed macho-dominated world of few words and much intimidation, Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, and Michael Ironside forming an uncompromising triangle of good, bad, and ugly. The history of friendship between Jack and Cash adds a layer of regret, and Powers Boothe cuts a dashing villain in a white suit that gets increasingly soiled as his soul surrenders to evil.
What Does Not Work As Well: The emphasis on cool visuals and an elegiac definition of manhood as stripped-down willingness to engage in one-on-one death duels abandons a cluttered plot overstuffed with sweaty characters. The ex-soldiers and their plan to rob a bank consume an inordinate amount of time, and illogical incidents serve as wallpaper to the main objective of staging blood-soaked shoot-outs.
Key Quote:
Cash: You know, Jack. I got a feeling the next time we run into each other, we gonna have a killin'. Just a feeling.
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