Walter Hill
Ancora Vivo - Last Man Standing

THE REVIEW

I believe you have all seen For A Fistful of Dollars, right? Well, when you watch Last Man Standing (1996), you might think it's a revisitation of Sergio Leone's famous classic. But in reality, both films draw from Yojimbo (The Bodyguard), the Japanese film by master Akira Kurosawa, which was itself inspired by the 1929 novel Red Harvest.

Having made these necessary clarifications, it's not too far from reality to say that this film can be considered in every way a remake of the progenitor of the Dollars Trilogy; the substantial difference is that everything is transposed to the 1930s, in Prohibition-era America, where in a small town on the border between Texas and Mexico, two rival gangs fight for dominance over the alcohol trade.

In this context, a plot develops that will feel like a déjà vu for many, with some sequences that seem to be taken directly from Leone's film, for example, the beating scene. Even the characters faithfully echo their characteristics. So, in the role of the mysterious lone gunslinger, which was once played by Clint Eastwood, we find a convincing Bruce Willis, while in the role of the bloodthirsty killer, which was initially played by the great Gian Maria Volonté, there is an excellent Christopher Walken.

Beyond these limitations, it must be admitted that Walter Hill does, as usual, an excellent job, proving once again to be an expert director in handling the action genre in its various nuances.

The shootouts are indeed very well executed, raw and powerful, with no sparing of ammunition, machine guns and revolvers as big as cannons. In this regard, it's worth mentioning the frequent use of the dual pistols by the protagonist John Smith.

The performances by the actors are excellent, and the respectable cast includes, in addition to the already mentioned Willis and Walken, the multiple Oscar nominee Bruce Dern.

What to say, it is not an indispensable film, but if you like gangster movies and action films with a noir flavor, this Last Man Standing could definitely be a satisfying watch.