Review of Last Man Standing

Introduction

A certain Akira Kurosawa story has held endless fascination for me. Ever since I was introduced to the charms of a Fistful of Dollars at a tender age, I have been hooked on the classic tale of a drifter caught up between two gangs in a ramshackle town. Sergio Leone`s direction drew me like a moth to a flame. Later, when I had the chance to see the Kurosawa original Yojimbo, my appreciation for the story took on new levels, as Kurosawa`s observation and storytelling is peerless. So when I heard that a new version was to be made, starring Bruce Willis as the Last Man Standing, my interest was understandably piqued.

The story must be legend by now. A nameless drifter wanders into a rundown town. After being insulted by a gang of layabouts, he proceeds to kill them and establish himself as a force to be reckoned with. Enlisting the reluctant aid of a hotel owner, he proceeds to play both sides of a gang war against each other, making as much money as he can from both gangs. He is undone, however by his compassion for a woman kept as a virtual slave by one of the gang bosses. This is only a prelude to the terrible vengeance he will wreak before he drifts out of town again. This much is common to all three versions of the story, but what makes Last Man Standing different is the setting. For this version, a prohibition setting was chosen, complete with cars, Tommy guns and gangsters. The town is a virtual ghost town somewhere near the Mexico border. The battle is between the Italian mafia and an Irish gang, both heavily into bootlegging.

Video

Last Man Standing is presented in a 2.35:1 letterbox format. The picture is to put it mildly dismal. The resolution is nowhere near good enough to do the picture justice, especially as there is always a lot of dust and debris blowing about. 11min and 29sec into the film, there appears a screen full of big white pixels for two frames. This is quite a glaring fault and one that should have been picked up in QC. The film itself, as directed by action Meister, Walter Hill is stylish and atmospheric. The prohibition era is well plumbed in the look of the film and the desert setting is well expressed through the colours of the image. All browns and yellows give the story a style of its own. It`s just a shame that the disc is nowhere near good enough to present the film at its best.

Audio

Sound is an English Dolby Prologic Surround track. The sound is adequate, but with all the guns blazing and action in such a recent movie, you would expect a 5.1 track as standard. The music by Ry Cooder is also expressive in bringing the story across and gives the film a great signature.

Features

Extras consist of the trailer and a 4-minute making of, which is really the trailer with a voice over and a few interviews to the sound of the Mortal Kombat soundtrack. It`s not really all that enlightening. The extras are all in the ratio of 4:3, but the disc auto zooms anyway. There are a measly six chapter breaks, and the final chapter is view only. You can`t scan forward or back, only pause it and play it. If you stop the disc, the player loses its place and the film has to be restarted.

Conclusion

The cast is variable. Bruce Willis on screen is formidable as "John Smith" and his quiet, restrained violence is great counterpoint to the explosive Christopher Walken as Hickey. Walken owns the screen as the Irish hitman and is extremely watchable. Veteran actor, Bruce Dern is Sheriff Ed Galt, who is just as underhanded as the films protagonist, but plays his character with a sense of old school class. William Sanderson is the hotel owner, Joe Monday and is refreshingly voluble when Willis` character is understated, making for good chemistry. However that is where the stellar performances end, for the main antagonists, the gang bosses are never going to set the screen alight. David Patrick Kelly as Doyle is not at all impressive as a gang leader, the emphasis on his obsession with Felina, his woman is so prominent that it`s pathetic and he loses any credibility as a gang boss. Ned Eisenberg as mafia boss, Strozzi is far worse, and his character is a complete stereotype. In fact all the Italian characters are stereotyped to the point of caricature, and their performances are the source of much inadvertent humour.

So, Last Man Standing. What`s good about this film? Very little to be honest, I admit that Walter Hills direction is sound, the film itself is glorious to look at, the screen performances by the four main characters are excellent, it sounds pretty good too. Setting the story in prohibition is a nice idea, and when all the gunplay occurs, the action is relentless. But there is a litany of problems with this film. Aside from the technical issues that are inherent in the disc itself, you know something is wrong when you put in the disc and Bruce Willis` voice leaps into a dull and lifeless voiceover. You may have noted that I qualified my opinion of Willis` performance by referring to his screen role. You know that something is wrong when a film is narrated. It very rarely works, with Amelie the only instance of a successful voiceover that I can think of. The monotonous drone that Willis gives to explain his characters motivations slows the film right down. Worse than that, it`s completely unnecessary. We can see perfectly well what is happening. The gangs are quite pathetic and uninvolving. The mafia are stereotypes and the Irish, lifeless, especially Doyle himself. Since the gangs are the focus of the whole film, this renders the story dull and pointless. In fact the actors constantly have to work against a dreary script, which lacks the emotional impact and flamboyance of its forebears. The protagonist, John Smith also lacks a certain mythos. The itinerant samurai and the mysterious gunfighter are gone, to be replaced by what, exactly? John Smith is just a wanderer with two fisted shooting style, nothing special. Finally, while the film claims to be based on the original Kurosawa story, it has far more in common with the Clint Eastwood classic. It`s pretty much a remake with some scenes very reminiscent of that film. The torture scene in particular looks as if it was shot on the same set.

And here we come to the fundamental problem of the film. Kurosawa`s Yojimbo, a true classic in its own right, was translated for western audiences into the brilliant A Fistful of Dollars. Now if there is one film that didn`t need a remake, it`s that one. That, coupled with the disc`s technical problems makes this one to avoid, unless you`re burdened with an unhealthy curiosity, as I am.