Review of The Villain (1979) by Tim S — 02 Sep 2012
There are several reasons that anybody reading this needs to see The Villain. First of all, it's directed by Hal Needham, who also directed Smokey and the Bandit. Second, it features work from Kirk Douglas, Ann Margaret and Arnold Schwarzenegger, in an early role.
Third, if you like Blazing Saddles, then you'll like this one. While Blazing Saddles was madcap lunacy on a slightly more sophisticated level, The Villain is just slapstick incarnate in true Looney Tunes style.
It's competently-shot, features some amazing work with horses and some neat old-school special effects. I found it to be pretty funny, but I suppose others wouldn't. I guess I can understand that.
The story itself is incredibly simple and doesn't demand too much from you, which is a good thing, but then again it does feel a bit stupid for no reason. Fortunately, the reason is to be silly, and in that, it succeeds.
It won't win awards for originality, but it's a fun movie with an unusually broad comic turn from Kirk Douglas who, like most people who see it, had me wondering why he would want to be involved with something like this in the first place.
Thankfully he shines and does a swell job with it.
This review of The Villain (1979) was written by Tim S on 02 Sep 2012.
The Villain has generally received mixed reviews.
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