Last Man Standing

Saw Last Man Standing, just because Lasu told me that's a good movie. Should've known better than to take movie advice from a man who liked Tomb Raider.

The movie is a remake of Yojimbo and Per un pugno di dollari, and, unlike Sergio Leone, they actually give credit to Kurosawa. But really you shouldn't make remakes unless you have something new and better to say, or at least some cool special effects or cute guys or something. The most obvious change in the story in comparison with Per un pugno di dollari is that it happens in the 1920s as opposed to the 1870s. This is not nice from the eye candy point of view, since the 1920s clothes and hairstyles can make even good-looking people look bad - not that there are any in this movie. The other radical change - and not for the better - is that the "strong and silent" main character talks to the audience (or to himself) all the time in voice-over. Sorry, I didn't really want to know what the guy was thinking.

Bruce Willis is a decent actor sometimes, and I am sure there are roles that he'd be able to play better than Clint Eastwood. This, however, is not one of them. Besides, Eastwood looked much better. To make the matters worse, Willis has the dumbest-looking haircut you can imagine.

Willis's character is about as much of a poster child for firearm safety as Eastwood's was, but at least Eastwood's character had to reload his gun at decent intervals. Willis's character keeps shooting dozens of bullets out of his pistol without any reloading at all. Besides, he shoots with both hands, which should only be allowed if you are swearing in Cantonese at the same time, and then only in John Woo movies. Willis's character also uses the gun that's between his legs for the purposes of obtaining various information, which is also an innovation in comparison with Per un pugno di dollari.

I guess I gotta watch Yojimbo one of this days for comparison.