Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Movie Review: The Good, the Bad, the Weird

The Good, the Bad, the Weird is a western made in and set in 1940s Manchuria. The MacGuffin is a treasure map. Three outlaws and their gangs are after it after it's stolen from a train. The Japanese army and a Chinese gang known as the Ghost Market are also after it.

It's an modern retelling of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with lots of action and some very modern visuals. There are some big set pieces and sweeping camera moves that are often dazzling. The characters are a bit cartoony, particularly "The Weird" who could almost be a Jackie Chan character but isn't as outright comedic. I did get a Shaolin Soccer kind of vibe though where that's a comedy, this is a western.

I thought the movie was a great deal of fun. The last half hour was to me a little stretched out but it was in keeping with the over-the-top storytelling.

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