Review of Walker (2012) by Gabriel A — 11 Jul 2012

Okay, first of all, do not expect historical or even temporal accuracy. What you do need to expect is an Acid Western in the vein of El Topo. If you can do that then you will get what Alex Cox is going for with Walker.

This is a rather good film following the story of William Walker, but with many many liberties taken from it. A spiritual successor to the film "Burn!", Walker is a fun, violent, politically striking film which deals directly with imperialism and American interventionism.

Walker is full of bizarre iconography and isn't in touch with it's own reality, but at no point does it ever compromise it's vision for what we think is right. If we allow Quentin Tarantino get away with re-writing WWII, then surely we can allow Alex Cox to do the same with Walker.

At times the images are rather brutal, but never strays too far from camp value either. This is a funny film but it hits us with real truths and forces us to recognize them.