This Last Man Standing (1996) is a remake of Yojimbo (1961), being an engaging but but not terribly original mobster/western , featuring partially the novel plot : "Red Harvest" by Dashiell Hammett . It pits a mysterious killer against two gangster organizations that are feuding over business . In the small 1930s border town of Jericho, Texas , John Smith (Bruce Willis) hires himself out to both sides of a bootlegging war , for Irish boss Doyle (David Patrick Kelly) and his nemesis Fredo Strozzi (Ned Eisenberg) in an effort to make some quick cash. Meanwhile , hired hand Smith saves a damsel in distress (Karina Lombard) . Along the way, he is helped by a barman (William Sanderson). Smith takes first one side , then the other until he is beaten to a pulp for his double-dealing plans . There are two sides to every war. And John Smith is on both of them !. In a town with no justice, there is only one law... Every man for himself !. If you lived in this town, you'd be dead by now !.
This is violent , beautifully crafted and exaggerated gangster movie . This stylish noir film contains rapid and deliberating filming at times , elaborate shoot-outs , and portentous close-ups of grime-encrustred faces with bloodbaths included . In fact, it is a remake to ¨Fistful of dollars¨ the epitome of the Spaghetti Western , that at the same time was a rip-off to ¨Yojimbo¨by Akira Kurosawa . Producers and credits claim lineage from the Kurosawa movie , but this plot's been around for a while . The impact of this Spaghetti Western ¨Sergio Leone's Fistful of Dollars¨ opened the gate for the huge numbers of Italian-Spanish Westerns which made fortune for their producers and directors in the sixties and early seventies and eventually leading to this American ¨Last Man Standing¨. Here Walter Hill, providing noisy action with some good moments , especially towards the final . With one of the slimmest storylines put on screen , this Prohibition , blow-them-away gangster saga delivers a bizarre and extremely violent shoot-fest . The higlights of the movie are the violent confrontations between throaty Bruce Willis and the nasty whispering trigger-happy Christopher Walken. There're lots of bloody-blasting action and it's all well done , though more akin to the spirit of the Spaghetti Western than the Japanese samurai film on which's actually based.
It contains a colorful and brilliant cinematography by Lloyd Ahern II, along with 1920s era costumes, especially bathed in brown filters, looks just right . Likewise , an evocative jazzy/country musical score by Ry Cooder , Walter Hill's regular. The motion picture was competently directed by Walter Hill who provides his ordinary trademark with visually exciting action scenes. The veteran craftsman Hill is a good writer , producer , filmmaker who has made a lot of films of all kinds of genres , working from late 60s , early 70s to nowadays . As he has directed action movies as Hard times , The driver , Southern comfort , The warriors , Extreme prejudice, 48 Hours , Another 48 hours , Last man standing , Johnny Handsome , Undisputed. Science fiction: Supernova . Western: Geronimo American legend, Wild Bill . Long riders . Comedy : Brewster's millions . Terror : Tales of the Crypt . Musical : Crossroads . Rating 6.5/10 , it will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end and it is fun too.
This is violent , beautifully crafted and exaggerated gangster movie . This stylish noir film contains rapid and deliberating filming at times , elaborate shoot-outs , and portentous close-ups of grime-encrustred faces with bloodbaths included . In fact, it is a remake to ¨Fistful of dollars¨ the epitome of the Spaghetti Western , that at the same time was a rip-off to ¨Yojimbo¨by Akira Kurosawa . Producers and credits claim lineage from the Kurosawa movie , but this plot's been around for a while . The impact of this Spaghetti Western ¨Sergio Leone's Fistful of Dollars¨ opened the gate for the huge numbers of Italian-Spanish Westerns which made fortune for their producers and directors in the sixties and early seventies and eventually leading to this American ¨Last Man Standing¨. Here Walter Hill, providing noisy action with some good moments , especially towards the final . With one of the slimmest storylines put on screen , this Prohibition , blow-them-away gangster saga delivers a bizarre and extremely violent shoot-fest . The higlights of the movie are the violent confrontations between throaty Bruce Willis and the nasty whispering trigger-happy Christopher Walken. There're lots of bloody-blasting action and it's all well done , though more akin to the spirit of the Spaghetti Western than the Japanese samurai film on which's actually based.
It contains a colorful and brilliant cinematography by Lloyd Ahern II, along with 1920s era costumes, especially bathed in brown filters, looks just right . Likewise , an evocative jazzy/country musical score by Ry Cooder , Walter Hill's regular. The motion picture was competently directed by Walter Hill who provides his ordinary trademark with visually exciting action scenes. The veteran craftsman Hill is a good writer , producer , filmmaker who has made a lot of films of all kinds of genres , working from late 60s , early 70s to nowadays . As he has directed action movies as Hard times , The driver , Southern comfort , The warriors , Extreme prejudice, 48 Hours , Another 48 hours , Last man standing , Johnny Handsome , Undisputed. Science fiction: Supernova . Western: Geronimo American legend, Wild Bill . Long riders . Comedy : Brewster's millions . Terror : Tales of the Crypt . Musical : Crossroads . Rating 6.5/10 , it will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end and it is fun too.