Welcome to the double. As always, if we had a theater, this is what we would have on the marque for Friday and Saturday night. Today we are taking a look at two films with enough testosterone to make your balls explode (assuming you have them). Both of these films will make you want to smoke a cig and walk with a “don’t fuck with me” swagger. So let’s get to it, time for a double dose of Bruce (Willis) in two films that I think are his forgotten films and represent some of his toughest work in the action genre. I am not saying any of these come close to his work in Die Hard but I would put them at two and three when it comes to his work in action films.
First up, The Last Boyscout. Directed by Tony Scott and written by Shane Black. Black is the author of Lethal Weapon and is largely considered to be the creator of the modern action movie. Now, you put the director of Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop 2, and Days of Thunder on a script by Black and you have a badass movie that doesn’t pretend to be anything that it’s not. This is a P.I. story told with bullet force and the only goal is to survive...The Last Boyscout.
Finally the film you came to see…Walter Hill’s The Last Man Standing. This is a credited remake of Akira Kurosawa’s film Yojimbo. Though it has been done before (most notably Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars) it is the first time that screen credit went to the legend Kurosawa and is to date the only authorized remake. I think this film represents some of Hill's best efforts. This is tough, gritty work from the man who started out in the grindhouse with films like The Driver and The Warriors.
In a lot of ways this feels a bit closer to Leone’s version than Kurosawa. The sets looks like they jumped out of the western genre and the film is full of characters that could easily swap a suit for a pair of boots and a gun belt. Bruce Willis just chews up every scene in this film. His character is calculating and always one step ahead of the rival gangs and never shy to use bullets instead of words. And honestly, any time Bruce is walking around with two guns like Chow Yun Fat, you know someone is about to get fucked up.
If you lived in this town, you'd be dead by now.…. The Last Man Standing.
Oddly enough, today's double is on Blu-Ray: http://amzn.to/eddd9Z
See you on forty deuce,
G
