Review of Silverado (1985) by Scott C — 04 Sep 2009

Within seconds of Silverado I knew that it was just what I could have hoped for: A Solid Western.

That is, the quality of the shootout sequences were excellently created and were lit to perfection, filmed from great angles in a stable manner and featured top notch sound effects and impeccable timing with the film editing.

Then again, the whole Silverado feature was enhanced by the same styles that perfected the shootouts, as well as a solidly strong musical score which ensured that the audience's feel for the plot dynamics was just the intended feel.

Silverado also beef it's from a great cast, with skilled leads Scott Glenn and Kevin Kline providing a feel that's like a team of Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman, but with both of them being the heroes.

John Cleese was also good in his brief time on screen, and despite the fact that his many comedic roles have caused me to associate his voice with a form of comedy, he was good in an antagonistic dramatic role.

And before the rise and fall of Kevin Costner in Western movies, he was in a riotous mood and portrayed such a fun character in desperado which infuses his signatory western persona with one of an against type common joker along for the ride.

But I found that the standout performance was the determined one by Danny Glover whose iconic level of badass skill transferred over into an action-racism setting and made him the strongest character of the film and added good civil drama to the plot. His skill as an actor manually contributed to the intensity of many scenes, particularly when he has everyone at gunpoint while they rope Scott Glenn.

So as a technical and substance achievement, Silverado is excellently victorious, and it exceeds just what the audience could hope for as a general solid western, and Lawrence Kasdan's job as a director is who we can thank for that.