Review of The Quick and the Dead (1995) by Taylor B — 09 Dec 2009
The western genre is something a cliche and fairly easy to mock it as it has many stereotypical traits and it's damn hard for a filmmaker to take it and do something unique with it while respecting what started the genre in the first place, and Sam Raimi is the man to do it.
He's backed up by an all-star cast with the likes of Pat Hingle, Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman and that kid from Titanic. But the real star here is Raimi, he moves the camera in such bold and interesting ways.
Also: yes, there will be crashzooms. The plot is just setup for western fun: a handful of gunslingers take on eachother in a contest for a 120 grand prize. The best performance comes from Gene Hackman, that man just lingers on words and actions, chewing on the very menace that is his character and savoring every moment he has.
He knows what makes a terrific badguy. The film isn't exactly perfect, at times it seems to not where exactly to go and others it has so many damn options it has a hard time picking where to go. It's no Army of Darkness but it's a damn fun film with great performances.
This review of The Quick and the Dead (1995) was written by Taylor B on 09 Dec 2009.
The Quick and the Dead has generally received positive reviews.
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