We're developing an appreciation for westerns here, it seems. Sorry Tombstone, but today we're going to talk about a truly great western, and the best example of the genre that I have ever seen.
I'm a little surprised that I put such little thought into selecting The Usual Suspects (sorry Keyser Soze if you're reading this). It's one of the all time greats with the best ending of any film I've seen. Also snubbed are Unbreakable, as I have a soft spot for all pre-Lady in the Water Shyamalan films, and Up, which could have made a run at our winner if it's latter half wasn't so underwhelming.
Total badass
Clint Eastwood definitely has a reputation when it comes to westerns. But in my mind this is his best work in the genre. Despite how many great character's he's played within this genre, Bill Munny definitely sports the most utterly titanic pair of stones of any of his roles.
Let me also say this, I don't particularly care for westerns, but this movie is special. It's shockingly subtle for the genre, withholding the outrageous shootouts that make most westerns ridiculous. In fact, the majority of the movie contains little direct violence. There's a lot of talk about violence, particularly about how much of a badass Bill Munny is. As the viewer, we start to question all of this talk about Bill's prior actions, because we see no sign of the person with the massive testicles they seem to be talking about. He's so detached from everything that we find it hard to believe some of the stories we hear about him.
And then somebody pisses Bill off....
(Colin's U Pick: Up)
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