Blind Justice (1994)

[The Firecracker]

Mediocre Blindman rip-off that takes its plot from Fight! Zatoichi Fight!.
The Blind gunslinger character finds a baby and vows to protect it.
Not a bad idea. It worked for the aforementioned Zatoichi sequel (the best installment that I've seen in the series) but the high concept plot is only kept for the first 20 minutes then we go off into, what looks to be, a subplot which turns into the main plot of the whole film.

Some dull story about gun-running mexicans.
Along the way there is some mexicans, gunfights, dynamite, torture and all the other staples of an Italian westerns but it's all done in a very ho-hum manner.

The actor who plays the blind gunslinger mumbles most of his lines but has a huge presence.

This was an HBO movie that aired in the early 90's.


5/10

[The Firecracker]

The opening

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NxY9j96iGE&feature=related

[O'Cangaceiro]

I admit that, while expected more from this American quasi-SW, I enjoyed watching it.

The movie is no doubt inspired in Blimdman, but in this case the gunfighter is not 100% blind. There is a good deal of action, and the violence is more graphic than in many SWs (albeit in many instances it is just uncalled for, almost nonsensical). There is no clear differenciation between good guys and bad guys: most of them are bad; from Alacran, to Sgt. Hastings, to the priest, you name it. The character Alacran is a real nasty fellow, but I think his son is even worse.

The movie is well filmed and has some memorable scenes: the crucifixion of Canaan, the flashbacks about the little girl, the scene where Canaan is trapped surrounded by fire (and his escape), and of course the gunfights depicting how fast Canaan draws and how accurately he shoots. Amongst the movie's oddities, I am still trying to figure out how did Canaan manage to feed the baby when he was going through the desert, but I guess those details are unimportant.

In a nutshell, a lot of action and entertainment.

7/10