Last Man Standing (1996) Reviews

• Unfairly trashed actioner from a master director

  wierzbowskisteedman2005-08-17

  Plot summary: In a prohibition era update of Yojimbo, Bruce Willis shoots a load of gangsters. First off I will never understand why Walter Hill does not have a better reputation. He's probably best known for his commercial success with the 48 Hrs films, and his other brilliant features get criminally overlooked. He scored a cult hit with "The Warriors", he delivered one of the best westerns ever with "The Long Riders", and put all other car chase movies to shame with the ultra cool "The Driver." As anyone who has seen these films should realise, Hill should be mentioned in the same breath as Peckinpah, Woo and Rodriguez when it comes to slow-mo gunplay. "Last Man Standing" doesn't rival these earlier works, but it is a tough, gritty film with some fantastic shootouts. It doesn't hold itself back in terms of blood and violence, something current US films of the genre are guilty of doing. It has everything an action film needs; tough antihero, loath able bad guys, a creepy main villain and plenty of cannon fodder. As long as you don't get hung up on technicalities (ie the guns fire ten times more ammo than they hold) you should be entertained. It doesn't feel like any effort went into the screenplay, but Hill adds some nice touches to the film in terms of nods towards the source material. I particularly like the opening where Bruce spins his empty whisky bottle on the ground to decide which road to take; a clear reference to Toshiro Mifune throwing a stick into the air to decide on his path. There is also an interesting cast; there's earlier Hill collaborator Bruce Dern (The memorable villain from The Driver), William Sanderson (Blade Runner) and of course Christopher Walken, who chews the scenery talking tough with his hoarse accent and threatening people with a Tommy gun. His performance is really the most memorable thing about the film. Willis is not Mifune or Eastwood, but he does suit the mysterious drifter character well and this is one of his better action man roles. All things said, the film certainly doesn't come close to "Yojimbo", but it does give the more rough hewn "Fistful of Dollars" a run for its money. By no means a masterpiece, "Last Man Standing" should still provide enough for any action fans tired of watered down mainstream Hollywood nonsense that currently dilutes cinemas. It is certainly a lot better than its reputation makes out.

• Stylish Mayhem

  ccthemovieman-12006-02-21

  This is simply what the above headline states: an ultra-violent movie done is stylish cinematography. Walter Hill, a nasty director who does this sort of thing (violent, profane films but usually with great visual appeal) did it in spades on this one. This is testosterone gone berserk.....and very entertaining. Actually, I enjoy watching this film and don't apologize for it, although it has no "redeeming qualities." However, I love the old-fashioned narration, here done by Bruce Willis in great Mickey Spillane/Mike Hammer-style, the period in which it's done (1930s) and the great colors in here. Love those orange colors!! This looks tremendous on DVD with a good flat-screen set. If I'm feeling in the need of seeing a violent crime film, this usually fills the bill. It's a fun flick. I could do worse.

• It's very orange

  boraxx2003-05-11

  This film is a bit of an oddity. A remake of a remake, the story is so obvious you are never surprised by events, but the gunfights are pretty entertaining and Christopher Walken's turn as the husky baddie Hickey is suitably menacing. Also the fact that the attractive brunette has a completely pointless scene where she is topless in front of the mirror is a bonus. :) The camera work is stylish and the discordant guitar riffage of Mr.Ry Cooder is superb, the pace is slow but not sluggish and you can almost feel the heat and dust. This film is good but not great. Er... that's it.

• Macho, stylish but not very brainy, medium good film

  Samiam32011-02-21

  For Last Man Standing, director Walter Hill relocates Kurosawa's Yojimbo to depression era America in a dusty desert town. There is something arguably distinctive about the flick. Perhaps it is the merger of gangster and western; something seldom seen in movies. Or perhaps it is the way that Hill's visual portrayal of a time and place seems flawless. Last Man Standing has an exceptionally retro look to it, very crusty and dusty, and also very macho. The problem with Last Man Standing comes down to it's roots. Once you've seen Yojimbo, Last Man Standing doesn't feel all that special. Hill never chooses to break free of the Kurosawa structure, so his film is predictable from the get go. Having said that, even if you know the outcome of the trip, part of the journey is worth while. As an action film, Last Man Standing delivers in spectacular fashion. The fight scenes are staged with a sense of gusto and texture; something is often denied to the majority of such scenes in other movies. When Last Man Standing is in adrenaline mode it works, but when it comes to the talky segments, it feels painfully stiff. The acting style is flat, and everybody delivers their lines with the same sour expression, which Hill seems quite fond of considering how many facial close ups he uses. In the end, the movie has a little something to offer. It's recommendable on some grounds, but it needs a bit more brain and less brawn.

• Brutal, masculine entertainment handicapped by one flawed sequence.

  fertilecelluloid2006-01-21

  This brutal Walter Hill pic has one of the best beatings ever burned to celluloid. It is so brutal, in fact, that the victim (Bruce Willis) looks like Jason from "Friday The 13th" once his attackers get done with him. Even better, he then lurches around like Rondo Hatten in "The Creep Man" plotting his revenge. The film's final action scene is an awful, indescribable mess, and I have always wondered why Hill and usual editor Freeman Davies opted to construct it this way. It is a shootout presented in a series of dissolves, and it just doesn't work. Hill has always been an adroit director and editor of action, and his fine work has a precision to it that this sequence lacks. Perhaps the camera negatives were damaged or the studio ordered a truncation. Whatever the reasons are for this flawed sequence, it, unfortunately, turns a great movie into a good movie. The opening sequence, replete with Ry Cooder's smooth scoring, is poetic and beautiful; Willis's arrival in town is directed with skill and energy; and cudos are also in order for the scene in which the first shot is fired and a stuntman is sent flying through a door into the dusty street outside. Christopher Walken is fantastic as the violent enforcer Hickey, and it is great to see David Patrick Kelly back on the screen as the malicious Doyle. There are many standout sequences and much to enjoy. Willis's solitary siege of a brothel, for example, is classic Hill stuff in terms of its staging, unapologetic brutality and superb cutting. That the film is a remake of a remake is of no consequence to me. It is still a rousing, spare piece of masculine entertainment with a whiff of Peckinpah, a dash of Kurosawa, and a splatter of Corbucci. That ain't no bad thing.