Showdown at Boot Hill (Reviewed on Nov. 26/98)
Starring Charles Bronson
"Showdown at Boot Hill" presents Charles Bronson doing what he does best: kicking ass. Ever since I first became aware of Bronson, through the "Death Wish" series, I'm always on the look-out for his films. He has a great screen presence, and you're always rooting for him.
In "Showdown at Boot Hill", Bronson plays a bounty hunter in the old West who shows up at a small town to pick up a criminal. The criminal refuses to go, and draws his gun. Of course, this being a Bronson movie, ol' Chuck shoots him dead. The only problem is this particular criminal had a lot of friends, and nobody will admit it was actually him, thus preventing Bronson from collecting his bounty. So, he hangs around the town, waiting for someone to come forward, while falling in love with the local spinster in the process.
While there's nothing terribly original about the story, the Bronson's performance more than makes up for it. He plays a man who knows that he's doing the right thing, but also knows that people around him mistrust his motives. Bounty hunters were not thought too highly of back then, but somebody had to do it, I suppose.
>From the instant he comes on screen, the audience is always on Bronson's side. We want him to succeed in his "mission", as it were, and we also want him to find love with the lonely waitress at the local bar. That's what makes Bronson one of the true icons of American cinema. He has that rare quality that allows him to appear tough when he needs to, but also sensitive around his friends and lovers.
Like Clint Eastwood, he's a true "man's man". I only hope that he has not given up on acting. It would be a real shame if this legend were to die without having won an Oscar.
*** out of ****
-- David Nusair dnusair@chat.carleton.ca Come visit my "Reel Film Reviews" site! "http://chat.carleton.ca/~dnusair"
"The most annoying questions are the hypothetical, like, `what would have happened if you had quit after Siamese Dream?' Well, what would have happened? Probably, we all would have been playing samba somewhere." -Billy Corgan
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