Last Man Standing Movie Review
Last Man Standing is a western movie at the end of its time. Vehicles have already replaced horses, roughneck cowboys have been replaced by prohibition gangsters, and the hero is an assassin that works for the highest bidder. Bruce Willis is the hero, and all but a couple other characters are the gangsters.
The movie is set in the 1920's during prohibition in a small, dusty town that is ruled by two crime syndicates: The Italians, who are trying to act like their Chicago counterparts, and the Irish, who have some pretty nasty guys on their side, including Hickey, played by the ever-so creepy Christopher Walken. Still, even though the bad guys are gangsters, this is still a western movie.
Bruce Willis comes into town and immediately takes care of a few gangsters that wreck his car; he then goes under employment of the rival gang. Even later, though, he sides with the group of gangsters that he was originally opposing, because they paid more. Throughout the movie, he plays both sides, and he even moves in a third direction after the sheriff tells him that the cops are going to move in soon. He strangely takes it upon himself to rid the town of both gangs, while making money at the same time.
The acting in Last Man Standing was decent, but it was basically a shooter movie. There is some good dialogue, but most of it involves faint or raspy voices, which aren't hard to do. The concept of the plot was good, with Bruce Willis working for both gangsters, and at one point, the law. It added an original twist to the movie. As for action, there was some pretty cool gunfights, although cool gunfights can be seen in a lot of movies. Of course, Willis plays the kind of guy that can shoot without looking, and the bad guys all can't shoot worth a damn, but they can punch pretty good. Willis gets a beating worse than his Die Hard movies.
Last Man Standing was a fun movie to watch but there are better out there. See it if you have the time; if not, look for something better.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.