Be Quick--Or Be Dead!

Recently, I saw the 1995 western "The Quick and the Dead" on HBO for the umteenth time. Though the movie received bad reviews from many popular critics, I found the movie to have a great storyline, as well as some great gunfighting and other incredible action scenes. I usually don't get into most western movies, but I found this one to be highly unique and fun. It's not an everyday thing to see a female heroine in a western movie. Make no mistake--Sharon Stone can cut it with the big boys when it comes to gunfighting.

PLOT:
The storyline was centered around a woman scorned (Sharon Stone) who returns to her hometown to participate in an annual gunslinging contest put on by a sinister entrepeneur and gunslinger who has pretty much bought out the town and treats the residents like slaves (Gene Hackman). Stone wants to get revenge on Hackman for having her father shot and killed years earlier. She ends up meeting other contest participants including a young hotshot (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a preacher forced by Hackman to enter the contest (Russell Crowe).
The contest is run as a lottery where two names are picked out of a hat. Then the two will draw their guns when the clock strikes the designated time as chosen by Hackman. The winner who shoots first and fires successfully at their opponent is the declared winner.
Hackman is viewed as the fastest hand in the west, and he will be a tough match for both Stone and DiCaprio's characters, who both want a piece of him. Interestingly, Hackman really wants a crack at the preacher (Crowe) because Crowe used to be a member of Hackman's terrorist gang and left on bad terms. However, Crowe became a man of religion, and he has no desire to shoot anyone. When Hackman forces him into it, he has no choice. As a result, Crowe and Stone will devise a plan to end Hackman's reign as town showoff and dictator.

The movie has plenty of action and moves along at a pretty fast pace, keeping it from getting stale or boring. Sharon Stone was the perfect cast choice to play the tough, rugged, female outlaw set on seeking revenge. Gene Hackman was the type of character that you love to hate, and his cold-hearted, destructive way of thinking keeps him quite interesting. Leonardo DiCaprio has no problem pulling off the suave, cocky, cowboy persona, and Russell Crowe is perfect as the calm, reserved preacher, who would show his mean streak by the film's climax.

But I what I find refreshing about the movie is the role that Stone plays.
Perhaps Hollywood started to go the "feminist" way with this movie by providing a female heroine who defied the odds and taught the bad guy a lesson for killing her father and running the town into despair. In any event, I salute them for taking on such a bold proposition. Yes folks, women can come out on top in a man's world sometimes too.

One final note--There are some great stunts that older westerns just can't beat. It's definately worth the price to rent it on video or DVD, or, if possible, catch it on any of the premium channels when its on--HBO, Cinemax, etc. Recommended for western fans, and any kind of action and adventure fan.