Review of The Shootist (1976) by Rocknblues 8 — 06 Feb 2010

The Shootist was a fine finish to John Wayne's big and long career. Even though I'm not a huge fan, he did have his moments, and he did play in a number of decent films. His image to the older generation is much like this generation's view of Clint Eastwood. A man that walks tall and stands behind what he believes. He don't just make movies, he made movies to communicate to the audience about what type of man he was. That's what is largely appreciated about him I would guess.

As for the film, well, John plays a gunslinger who is on the verge of dying with cancer. The truth is that Wayne was dying of cancer as this movie was made. Even though it is said that Wayne wanted to keep making movies, it really does feel like a "goodbye" movie to his fans while also looking back on his long career also. While it maybe true that Wayne acts the same in most of his movies, you can sort of feel that this is the man instead of the movie star. His performance and the film is just more grounded that normal.

If I had to compare it to another movie, I would compare it to Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino. But without the humor. The endings have a very similar feel to me. Both are about a man growing old and dying in a changing world that they would not truly be able to adapt to. It's also said that Gran Torino was Clint's goodbye to acting and give his age, you have to wonder if history will repeat it's self. Hopefully not.