I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Admirable film.

Absolutely the worst movie.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

I remembered the title of this film because of the leading actor, but also because critics gave it the lowest review, one star out of five, I also found out it was a remake of Yojimbo which I watched not long before, had to see what I'd think, directed by Walter Hill (The Long Riders, 48 Hrs., Brewster's Millions, Red Heat, Bullet to the Head). Basically set in the 1930s in Prohibition-era Texas, aimless drifter John Smith (Bruce Willis) is an amoral gunslinger, escaping his latest (unspecified) exploits, he turns up in the town of Jericho, Texas. Actually Jericho is not so much a town, it has become more like a ghost town, because of two warring gangs, one Italian mafia led by Fredo Strozzi (Ned Eisenberg) and one Irish mafia led by Mr. Doyle (Commando's David Patrick Kelly), have driven away "decent folk". Smith sees this rivalry as an opportunity to take advantage and make some money, playing both sides against each other, and working as a hired gun for both, current Sheriff, Ed Galt (Bruce Dern), also seems to be exploiting the conflict for personal gain. Smith may be not be afraid to display his mercenary intentions, but he does risk his own life in the process of what he is doing, the one to fear above all seems to be Doyle's right-hand man Hickey (Christopher Walken) who has no problem killing whoever gets in his way. In the end, Smith's actions are discovered by one or both sides, he gets a severe beating, but he survives it, gets revenge and kills everyone who deserve what's coming, he consoles that both gangs are better off dead, and he drives off into the distance. Also starring Alexandra Powers as Lucy Kolinski, William Sanderson as Joe Monday, Karina Lombard as Felina, Michael Imperioli as Giorgio Carmonte, R.D. Call as Jack McCool, Leslie Mann as Wanda, Tiny Ron as Jacko the Giant and Insidious's Lin Shaye as The Madame. Willis is okay as the tough mobster hard man who turns up in a dodgy town full of lowlifes, Walken does do well as the sinister henchman, I was much more engaged by the amount of bloody violence and shotguns and machine guns blazing, apart from that I can see reasons why critics give it a low review, it is pretty predictable, full of clichés, and at times slow and boring, overall it's a disappointing action thriller. Adequate!

You ever have a film in your mind that you loved as a kid but have since drifted away from? I remember watching this around the time of release and fell for its overly stylised, excessive violence and moody, oppressive atmosphere. But watching it again last night, I was left wondering exactly why I fell for it so badly. It might not be the most original picture out there and it certainly isn't what you'd call uplifting. But there is a strange, almost cartoon-y level of carnage that action fans will lap up. A pity then, that the film is about as deep as your average burst of Tom & Jerry.Bruce Willis plays a drifter who goes by the name of John Smith who winds up in the dead-end ghost town of Jericho, Texas. Quickly discovering that the town is the site of a vicious dispute between two gangs of bootleggers, Smith senses an opportunity to make a quick buck by playing the gangs off against each other. After working with the Italians led by Strozzi (Ned Eisenberg) and then the Irish families led by Doyle (David Patrick Kelly), Smith's plan quickly unravels when Doyle's psychotic right-hand man Hickey (Christopher Walken) reappears in town and takes exception to Smith's quickly-earned reputation as the ultimate gun-for-hire...Shot in a warm orange glow that's reminiscent of a sepia photograph, "Last Man Standing" is a real oddity that blends westerns, gangsters and even Kurosawa in a not-entirely-successful picture. The setting is an odd mix of a hot and sticky western town and even has a corrupt sheriff (Bruce Dern) but seems populated almost entirely by sharp-suited gangsters in old Fords, a snivelling bartender (William Sanderson) and an undertaker for whom business is good. The plot, which shouldn't be that confusing to follow, is lost in a mire of mumbling characters and possibly the dullest voice-over in history by Willis who appears to have suffered from a personality bypass. The problem is exacerbated when Willis and Walken share the screen as each of them sneer and growl at each other like a couple of grumpy old dogs instead of lighting the screen up with sparkling dialogue like the stars they are. At times, it's almost laughable.But then a scene appears when Willis gets to do some serious ass-kicking and indeed, "Last Man Standing" does not disappoint in this department. There is a strong sense that writer/director Walter Hill spent a lot of time watching "Desperado" because this film also has baddies flying through the air, bullets raining down from Willis's dual pistols (which only run out of ammo when the baddies are either dead or reloading themselves) as the screen lights up with muzzle flashes. It is jolly well done and very exciting but when the guns are holstered and Willis is smooth-talking his way into the bed of moll Lucy (Alexandra Powers), the film badly sags. There's no real pulse behind it as the film continues to tell its story, which is one that really hasn't any got much substance to it. Certainly, nothing ever feels at stake and Willis's enigmatic loner is a difficult hero to get behind. Seasoned action fans will get a kick out of this but I can't avoid the feeling that it needed something else. "Desperado" has a feeling of fun to it, a sense that its OK to laugh in places - not to mention the sexiest sidekick of the 90's, Salma Hayek. "Last Man Standing" has no joy or fun to it and in many ways, it's like Smith himself - awesome when there is a gun in its hand but without it, it's a load of nothing.

International filmmakers have exerted great influence on American movies. When Hollywood runs out of fresh ideas, the major studios often turn to foreign films for inspiration. Sometimes, a filmmaker appears who can adapt a foreign film in such a revolutionary way that audiences sits up and pays attention. "Extreme Prejudice" writer & director Walter Hill manages this ambitious feat in his cinematic version of the 1961 Japanese samurai epic "Yojimbo" by the brilliant director Akira Kurosawa. Incidentally, "Yojimbo" translated means "bodyguard." In the 1950s and 1960s, Kurosawa emerged as one of the few Asian filmmakers who commanded the respect of American audiences. His films grew popular in the West. Moreover, Kurosawa translated profitably in westerns. His films have served as the basis for John Sturges' 1960 classic "The Magnificent Seven," Sergio Leone's landmark Spaghetti western "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964), and now Walter Hill's "Last Man Standing." Hill recycles the venerable Kurosawa tale as a Prohibition Era gangster saga, casting Bruce Willis as a tight-lipped soldier of fortune with two automatics and an attitude. The story contains all the subtlety of a hail of lead delivered at point blank range, and "Last Man Standing" erupts with the fury of an artillery barrage. The setting of Jericho, Texas, exists in a moral vacuum. The gangsters have sent all the good people packing and paid for the law as they have bought most of the women. Women decorate the periphery of "Last Man Standing' in minor roles as hostages, whores, and mistresses. These unhappy females are trapped in Jericho as male playthings and the consequences of defiance carry a high price as one girl learns. When John Smith (Bruce Willis of "Die Hard") wheels his Ford into the dusty, remote town of Jericho, he is searching for a quiet place to lay low before he vanishes into Mexico. What he encounters are two greedy Chicago bootlegging clans competing for supremacy over the illegal whiskey trade. Like Clint Eastwood in "A Fistful of Dollars," Smith smells money galore in "Last Man Standing" so he hires out his pistols to the highest bidders. Smith plays the Italians and the Irish skillfully against each other in a suspenseful game of cat and mouse. When he helps a young woman held hostage by the Irish, Smith finally pays for his interference. The Irish gang, headed by Doyle (Daniel Patrick Kelly), captures and stomps our protagonist until he resembles a bruised tomato. Somehow, Smith endures this horrible beating and gets away. Furiously, Doyle massacres the Italian leader, Strozzi (Ned Eisenberg), and his gang at a roadhouse where the Irish believe Smith has filed for protection. Instead, Smith holes up out of town in a church to recover his strength. Jericho's corrupt sheriff (Bruce Dern of "The Cowboys"), decides to help Smith out by loaning him two guns. Smith takes the hardware and challenges the Irish to a Wild West showdown. As his own scenarist, director Walter Hill has kept most of the original story intact. If you're looking for comparisons, you might find it easier to correlate "Last Man Standing" with "A Fistful of Dollars" rather than "Yojimbo." As the writer, Hill fumbles in making the evil, Tommy-gun toting Hickey (Christopher Walken of "The Anderson Tapes") a henchman rather than the boss, as the corresponding character was in "A Fistful of Dollars." He is the only match bullet-for-bullet with Smith. As Hickey, Christopher Walken adds another despicable villain to his cinematic gallery of rogues, playing second fiddle to Doyle. Hill generates minor suspense when lesser characters refer to Hickey's character and the hellishness that always follows in his wake."Last Man Standing" is a raw, hard-bitten, little, B-move shoot'em-up with A-class pretensions that pays homage to not only Kurosawa but also stylishly imitates the excessive violence from recent Hong Kong crime thrillers. If you want to compare it to one of Bruce's American thrillers, the Tony Scott directed bullet ballet "The Last Boy Scout" (1991) is the best example. Hill the writer doesn't waste time contriving an elaborate plot that hinges on small but crucial details. When characters are not performing tasks on-screen, they are deployed off-screen in plot related activities. This is one who where what the characters do off-screen is of integral importance to what others do on-screen. Compared with Clint Eastwood who played the Man with No Name in "A Fistful of Dollars," Bruce Willis here is the Man With Anybody's Name. As he reveals to the Italians, he is simply John Smith from back East. John Smith is a taciturn fellow. He doesn't make a big deal out of most things unless he finds his expertise challenged. If you're a Willis fan, "Last Man Standing" isn't Bruce as usual. He is neither "Die Hard" Detective John McClane nor is he David Addison from "Moonlighting." He is a man of few words and fewer wisecracks. Smith is an unrepentant hard-case who admits as much without remorse during his opening narration. Here Willis delineates the character of Smith more out of what is left unsaid rather than said.The film amounts to a genre mash-up: a period crime drama crossed with a western. In it, the Old West is a dying dream. The New West, suggests Hill, is being taken over by business suits from back East with hardware. Nevertheless, that Wild West justice might be out of sight but it's not entirely out of mind. Altogether, "Last Man Standing" qualifies as a loud, bloody shoot'em-up that shouldn't disappoint action fans.

Last Man Standing is directed by Walter Hill who also adapts the screenplay from a story written by Ryûzô Kikushima and Akira Kurosawa. It stars Bruce Willis, Bruce Dern, William Sanderson, Christopher Walken, David Patrick Kelly, Karina Lombard and Ned Eisenberg. Music is by Ry Cooder and cinematography by Lloyd Ahern.Walter Hill's variant on Yojimbo, plot basically sees Willis as drifter John Smith, who after arriving in the dusty town of Jericho, promptly sets about making some serious cash by playing the town's two gangs off against each other. Smith is one tough hombre, a deadly pistoleer who has a fear of nothing, which is why the two respective gang leaders want him to work for them. Noses get put out of joint, blood flows, scores settled and a anti-hero is born, complete with permanent scowl and dry narration.The look and sound is terrific, Cooder's pessimistic twangs are all over the plot, while the visuals dovetail between sun-baked landscapes and the misty lensed ghost town of Jericho. Hill brings his trademark stylish violence into play, with slow-mos and rapid fire shoot-outs impressive, while his skill at creating an antique atmosphere is very much in evidence. Unfortunately the narrative isn't up to much, it lacks scope and characters merely exist, making this very much a style over substance exercise. It also means that much of the cast are given only morsels to feed on. A shame when you got Walken and Kelly on overdrive when on screen.It's an odd blend of a Western with Prohibition Noir characters, but it's unmistakably a Walter Hill film. For his fans there's enough to like about it whilst accepting it's a bit of a throwaway on the page. For the casual crime/action film fan, however, it's likely to be much ado about nothing. 7/10