Last Man Standing

REVIEW
Combining the gangster and western genres and using a ghost town during the rough-and-tumble 1930s as its setting, Last Man Standing is a particularly stylish reworking of Yojimbo whose narrative isn't quite as accomplished as its visuals. As the perennial Man-with-No-Name, Willis is a mysterious drifter who arrives in a near-deserted Texas town and immediately gets caught between two feuding mob factions. Seeing a quick buck, he plays both sides from the middle; that is, until they get wise and he eventually sets out to clean up the town. The golden-hued cinematography nicely captures the dusty landscape, and the gunfight sequences are well staged. But the drama nestled in-between the fights and shootouts are slowly paced. (Letterboxed version available for $14.99)