http://www.fistful-of-leone.com/forums/index.php?topic=6878.0Bruce Willis plays the "samurai NWNN" character "John Smith". You see him first in what looks like a model A driving across the Texas desert its a short sequence, too short. From his narrative he is a man on the run possibly an ex gangster, not the Continental Op. Not a whole lot of Western Landscape featured in this film (if it had and opening sequence like the Cohen Bros. "No Country For Old Men" it would have definitely given it a more Western feel).
There are a few shots of the desert but they are not stunningly beautiful. It comes off as a result more like a gangster flick which is truer to Hammett's "Red Harvest" than both previous film adaptations. So Willis arrives in a town 50 miles from the Mexican border where most of the action takes place. This time around the two rival bootlegging gangs are Italian headed by Fredo Strozzi & Irish led by Doyle. Willis has an opening confrontation with the Irish led gang then meets the owner of a bar Joe Monday (William Sanderson the actor from the "Bob Newhart Show" and recently "Deadwood" who has basically the Silvanito part.
Willis arms himself with two Colt Automatics and goes out & does what approximates a "apologize to my mule" riff that comes off flat, there is no "get three coffins ready" line, nada, its not cool in the least. In fact the only reference to a coffin maker is a shot of bodies in the window of a funeral home and a smiling undertaker. Afterward he offers his services to the Italians one of whom is played by Michael Imperioli from "The Sopranos".
It has almost all the major elements of AFOD & Yojimbo with extras added from Red Harvest, but it doesn't have the picaresque use dead bodies in AFOD. It does have the "Baxter Massacre" a burning road house sequence whose victims are the Italian gang (this is from two sequences in Red Harvest the first is a road house massacre the second is a bootleggers warehouse. It does have an over use of a lot of automatic weapons which becomes redundant in every shootout and there impact which should have been empathized becomes watered down. Another missing in action element is the buildup tension before each showdown, Hill homages Peckinpah rather than Leone.
This film does have the Marisol character here called Felina minus her family, and adds two more "floozies" for good measure one is a love interest for Willis. It also has Bruce Dern as a crooked sheriff Ed Gault (which is loosely based on police chief Noonan in Red Harvest) but his character becomes a fusion of the Piperio & Sivanito parts in AFOD rather than the crook he is in Red Harvest. So we have almost two Silvanitos in "Last Man Standing. Christoffer Walken plays "Hickey" a bad ass gangster/hitman aligned with the Irish gang who speaks in a harsh whisper and this character is actually based on "Whisper" from Red Harvest.
There is a scene where Smith (Willis) is beaten by the gang and left in a warehouse with a ramp (just like in AFOD) but for some strange reason the ramp goes down from the doorway and its not used by Willis who simply just grabs one of the gang men and uses his gun to shoot the other before making his escape.
There are some scenes shot through distorted glass that I noticed that created a impressionistic look to some shots but that was the extent of the creativity.
You'd think they would have at least tried to make something as good as either Yojimbo Or AFOD but they don't even come close.
Walter Hill was great on the Long Riders but since then hasn't really done anything outstanding in film save for Geronimo and one episode of Deadwood.
