Director Sam Raimi
Written by Simon Moore

Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gary Sinise, Tobin Bell, Roberts Blossom, Kevin Conway, Keith David, Lance Henriksen, Pat Hingle, Mark Boone Junior.

In the Wild West, Ellen (Stone) comes to the small town of Redemption right as a quick draw competition starts. Finding herself in the contest herself, she also finds herself at odds with the towns’ owner John Herod (Hackman) – who might just have a connection to her past. As the numbers in the contest dwindle down, will she be able to keep her secret – before she has a chance to challenge him in a duel.

Some of the dialogue and attitudes of the characters seem a little out of place, almost like 1995 was dropped into the Wild West. There is also some placement of products and belongings that would not have been inconsistent of the time (like sunglasses).

There are some fun camera angles within as well, especially ones that either follow inanimate objects (like when Harod is shooting the chair), and that are ‘through’ people as well.

 I forgot how clichéd this movie was – but there were quite a few examples of moments that are so overused within movies – and cartoons. Some examples are when a ‘mysterious’ wind breezes when the protagonist eyes the antagonist for the first time

The absolute best thing about this movie is the score, by Alan Silvestri. I could listen to this all day and never get sick of it. The theme is one of the best within the nineties and the rest of it complements the era of the time nicely.

Hackman as always is brilliant in the role of Herod, someone who loves being hated.

I used to quite love this film, but it is quite flawed.

3/5