Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
John Smith is a mysterious stranger who is drawn into a vicious war between two Prohibition-era gangs. In a dangerous game, he switches allegiances from one to another, offering his services to the highest bidder. As the death toll mounts, Smith takes the law into his own hands in a deadly race to stay alive.
Last Man Standing is Walter Hill's stylized retelling of Yojimbo/A Fistful of Dollars transplanted to Prohibition-era Texas. Ry Cooder's score and Lloyd Ahern's dusty, sun-bleached cinematography give the film a genuinely striking visual identity — the desolate, wind-swept town is atmosphere at its best. Bruce Willis is serviceable in stoic mode but the acting overall is uneven, with supporting players chewing scenery inconsistently. The plot is intentionally spare and mythic, functional rather than revelatory, leaning entirely on its source material's bones. Novelty suffers precisely because this is the third major iteration of the same story, and Hill adds little beyond aesthetic polish. The ending deflates rather than satisfies, resolving tensions too neatly and quickly given the build-up, leaving the film feeling hollow at its conclusion.