Last Man Standing
Last Man Standing
R | 20 September 1996 (USA)
Last Man Standing Trailers

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.

Reviews
TinsHeadline

Touches You

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VividSimon

Simply Perfect

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UnowPriceless

hyped garbage

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FuzzyTagz

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

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Leofwine_draca

Although the story's nothing new, this different action outing gets by on looks alone. Shot in sepia, the film brings a dead-end western town to life - along with all of the reptilian crooks and criminals who live in it. Walter Hill perhaps manages too well in recreating his lifeless town, as the whole film is weighted down by an oppressive atmosphere of boredom and depression. Or maybe that's just me… Bruce Willis stars as the down-at-heel hero, playing pretty much his usual early '90s world-weary turn. This is until the film takes a darker turn towards the finale, which sees our hero taking a brutal beating that leaves him half-dead, with only one eye. Thankfully, he's still fit enough to see off the rest of the remaining baddies with his guns that are seemingly filled with never-ending bullets. Willis is supported by a familiar cast, including Bruce Dern as the local Sheriff, William Sanderson as a bartender, and the hissable Christopher Walken as villainous henchman 'Hickey'.So anyway, this is a bleak, pessimistic film which constantly looks like it's about to burst into violent action - that is until Willis' soul-sapping narration pops up once more to drain your life away. The grumbled narration is certainly one thing I could have done without. Thankfully to make up for this miscalculation, we have some kinetic action scenes shot with a fluid energy and about a million bullets - all very impressive. In the end, though, LAST MAN STANDING is simply a passable thriller, that offers up nothing new to this genre.

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Python Hyena

Last Man Standing (1996): Dir: Walter Hill / Cast: Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Bruce Dern, Alexandra Powers, William Sanderson: Mindless exercise in violence and mayhem. Title seems to indicate that everyone thinks with their fists. Bruce Willis arrives in a western town and notices a woman then he encounters a group of hoodlums who state that she is their boss's woman and underline the threat by bashing a window in his car. In response Willis shoots a dozen of them or so. This catches on and soon his services are up for auction. Two gangs run the town and Willis is paid off by both. The results are predictable, repetitious and dull. Director Walter Hill succeeds in painting the western atmosphere but he also creates one of the worst films of the year. Hill is a celebrated filmmaker whose weird and wacky The Warriors has strangely gained cult status. Willis delivers one of his worst performances as this gun slinging moron. Christopher Walken is wasted as a villain whom Willis is suppose to fear. Their showdown lacks the dramatic payoff and suspense generally associated with it. Bruce Dern, William Sanderson and Alexandra Powers are wasted in roles that are beneath them. This is a pathetic piece of trash and an insult to the western genre. It leaves one to wonder which member of the audience will be the last man waking. Score: 1 / 10

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Seth Landers

I like Bruce Willis and I like Walter Hill but this is just horrible. After watching this, I had no idea what this movie was about. Nothing happens at all. Some shoot-outs, some dialogue, more shoot-outs, repeat! Zero tension, zero character development, zero plot.I was hoping for something spectacular to happen and find something to move me but they threw every action cliché in this script. The more I was watching, the more I wanted it to end. It's not the worst movie ever made but it's pretty bad.My parental figure showed it to me at a movie night and I went in with an open mind. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed and felt empty throughout my experience with this film. Try to avoid this one and save two hours of your life!

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Benjamin Cox

You ever have a film in your mind that you loved as a kid but have since drifted away from? I remember watching this around the time of release and fell for its overly stylised, excessive violence and moody, oppressive atmosphere. But watching it again last night, I was left wondering exactly why I fell for it so badly. It might not be the most original picture out there and it certainly isn't what you'd call uplifting. But there is a strange, almost cartoon-y level of carnage that action fans will lap up. A pity then, that the film is about as deep as your average burst of Tom & Jerry.Bruce Willis plays a drifter who goes by the name of John Smith who winds up in the dead-end ghost town of Jericho, Texas. Quickly discovering that the town is the site of a vicious dispute between two gangs of bootleggers, Smith senses an opportunity to make a quick buck by playing the gangs off against each other. After working with the Italians led by Strozzi (Ned Eisenberg) and then the Irish families led by Doyle (David Patrick Kelly), Smith's plan quickly unravels when Doyle's psychotic right-hand man Hickey (Christopher Walken) reappears in town and takes exception to Smith's quickly-earned reputation as the ultimate gun-for-hire...Shot in a warm orange glow that's reminiscent of a sepia photograph, "Last Man Standing" is a real oddity that blends westerns, gangsters and even Kurosawa in a not-entirely-successful picture. The setting is an odd mix of a hot and sticky western town and even has a corrupt sheriff (Bruce Dern) but seems populated almost entirely by sharp-suited gangsters in old Fords, a snivelling bartender (William Sanderson) and an undertaker for whom business is good. The plot, which shouldn't be that confusing to follow, is lost in a mire of mumbling characters and possibly the dullest voice-over in history by Willis who appears to have suffered from a personality bypass. The problem is exacerbated when Willis and Walken share the screen as each of them sneer and growl at each other like a couple of grumpy old dogs instead of lighting the screen up with sparkling dialogue like the stars they are. At times, it's almost laughable.But then a scene appears when Willis gets to do some serious ass-kicking and indeed, "Last Man Standing" does not disappoint in this department. There is a strong sense that writer/director Walter Hill spent a lot of time watching "Desperado" because this film also has baddies flying through the air, bullets raining down from Willis's dual pistols (which only run out of ammo when the baddies are either dead or reloading themselves) as the screen lights up with muzzle flashes. It is jolly well done and very exciting but when the guns are holstered and Willis is smooth-talking his way into the bed of moll Lucy (Alexandra Powers), the film badly sags. There's no real pulse behind it as the film continues to tell its story, which is one that really hasn't any got much substance to it. Certainly, nothing ever feels at stake and Willis's enigmatic loner is a difficult hero to get behind. Seasoned action fans will get a kick out of this but I can't avoid the feeling that it needed something else. "Desperado" has a feeling of fun to it, a sense that its OK to laugh in places - not to mention the sexiest sidekick of the 90's, Salma Hayek. "Last Man Standing" has no joy or fun to it and in many ways, it's like Smith himself - awesome when there is a gun in its hand but without it, it's a load of nothing.

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