Review of The Quick and the Dead (1995) by Patc. — 17 Jun 2007
This movie is a non-stop compendium of every western cliche, with a generous helping of Clint-Eastwood's-feminist-sister-as-gunslinger. The show misses no opportunity to sacrifice logic and relevance for entertainment value.
It has no business working, but entertainment is never about content, only the way the content is treated, and as entertainment this movie borders on being a masterpiece. It's just plain good old fashioned story telling.
If you want to look deeper, fine. Stone's character has hints of Hamlet trying to muster up the courage to bring his fathers murderer to justice. But overall the good characters are redeemed after being bad, and the bad are bad beyond belief.
This show was a no-brainer put-down for professional movie critics who make a living trying to sound intelligent. But there's a reason this movie has become a staple of cable TV. It's the basics: plot, script, screenplay, elements that appeal to all tastes, and editing - all coordinated to make for a presentation as digestible as jello.
The content is stupid, over the top, unoriginal and disposable, but I would rather see garbage turned into entertainment than entertainment turned into garbage. And there's nothing wrong with cliches, only how they're used.
Here they're used in a context where they work. So kick back with a six pack and enjoy top grade movie making without bogging down in cognitive thinking.
This review of The Quick and the Dead (1995) was written by Patc. on 17 June 2007.
The Quick and the Dead has generally received positive reviews.
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