Handlung

Retired Old West gunslinger Will Munny reluctantly takes on one last job to avenge an injustice with the help of his old partner and a young would-be gunman calling himself "The Schofield Kid".

After escaping death by the skin of her teeth, the horribly disfigured prostitute, Delilah Fitzgerald, and her appalled and equally furious co-workers summon up the courage to seek retribution in 1880s Wyoming's dangerous town of Big Whiskey. With a hefty bounty on the perpetrators' heads, triggered by the tough Sheriff "Little Bill" Daggett's insufficient sense of justice, the infamous former outlaw and now destitute Kansas hog farmer, William Munny, embarks on a murderous last mission to find the men behind the hideous crime. Along with his old partner-in-crime, Ned Logan, and the brash but inexperienced young gunman, the "Schofield Kid", Munny enters a perilous world he has renounced many years ago, knowing that he walks right into a deadly trap; however, he still needs to find a way to raise his motherless children. Now, blood demands blood. Who is the hero, and who is the villain?—Nick Riganas

The town of Big Whiskey, Wyoming is full of normal people trying to lead quiet lives. Cowboys try to make a living. Sheriff "Little Bill" Daggett (Gene Hackman) tries to build a house and keep a heavy-handed order. The town prostitutes just try to get by.Then a couple of cowboys cut up one of them. Dissatisfied with Bill's justice, the prostitutes put a bounty on the cowboys. The bounty attracts a young gun billing himself as "The Schofield Kid" (Jaimz Woolvett), and aging killer William Munny (Clint Eastwood). Munny reformed for his young wife, and has been raising crops and two children in peace. But his wife is dead. Farm life is hard. And Munny is no good at it. So he calls his old partner Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman), saddles his ornery nag, and rides off to kill one more time, blurring the lines between heroism and villainy, man and myth.—Charlie Ness

In 1880, in Big Whiskey, Wyoming, a group of prostitutes led by Strawberry Alice (Frances Fisher), offers a $1,000 reward to whoever can kill Quick Mike (David Mucci) and "Davey-Boy" Bunting (Rob Campbell). Quick Mike slashed prostitute Delilah Fitzgerald's (Anna Levine) face multiple times with a knife, permanently disfiguring her after she laughs at his small penis. The prostitutes wanted the sheriff to hang Quick Mike for his crime.

As punishment, Sheriff "Little Bill" Daggett orders Mike and his associate who was with him at the brothel, Davey Bunting, to turn over seven of their ponies to Delilah's employer, Skinny DuBois (Anthony James), for his loss of revenue. Little Bill even refuses to whip the culprits. Outraged, the prostitutes offer a $1,000 bounty for the cowboys' deaths. Each of the women contributes from their savings to come up with the rewards pot.

This upsets the local sheriff, Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman), a former gunfighter and now an obsessive keeper of the peace who does not allow guns or criminals in his town. Little Bill had given the two men leniency, despite their crime.

In Hodgeman County, Kansas, the Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett), a boastful young man, visits the pig farm of William Munny (Clint Eastwood), seeking to recruit him to kill the cowboys. The Kid claims to be an experienced bounty hunter looking for help pursuing the cowboys.

In his youth, Munny was a bandit who was notorious for being a vicious, cold-blooded murderer, but he is now a repentant widower raising two children and has sworn off alcohol. Munny's wife died of smallpox in 1878. The Kid says that the cowboys slashed a lady's face, and cut her eyes and ears out, and even her nipples. The Kid offers a 50-50 partnership.

Though Munny initially refuses to help with the assassination, his farm is failing, putting his children's future in jeopardy. Munny is getting old and can no longer put up with the rigors of farm work, while his kids are still too young to be able to manage everything by themselves.

Munny reconsiders a few days later and sets off to catch up with the Kid whom he discovers, is severely near-sighted. On his way, Munny recruits Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman), another retired gunfighter who reluctantly leaves his wife (Cherrilene Cardinal) to go along.

Back in Big Whiskey, the bounty hunters start arriving into town, giving hope to Alice and the other prostitutes. Meanwhile, Quick Mike and Bunting make their payment of 7 ponies to Skinny DuBois. British-born gunfighter "English" Bob (Richard Harris), an old acquaintance and rival of Little Bill's, seeks the bounty. He arrives in town with his biographer W. W. Beauchamp (Saul Rubinek), who naively believes in Bob's tall tales.

Enforcing the town's anti-gun law, Little Bill, with his deputies, disarm Bob, and Bill beats him savagely, hoping to set an example for other would-be assassins. The next morning Bob is ejected from town. Bob, humiliated, is banished from town the next morning, but Beauchamp stays out of a fascination with the sheriff, who debunks many of the romantic notions Beauchamp has about the Wild West. Little Bill explains to Beauchamp that the best attribute for a gunslinger is to be cool-headed under fire rather than to have the quickest draw, and to always kill the best shooter first.

Munny, Logan and the Kid arrive later amid a rainstorm and go to the saloon/whorehouse to discover the cowboys' location. Munny has a bad fever after riding in the rain and is sitting alone in the saloon when Little Bill and his deputies arrive to confront him. Little Bill has no idea who Munny is, and after finding a pistol on him he beats him brutally and kicks him out onto the street. Logan and the Kid, upstairs getting "advances" on their payment from the prostitutes, escape out a back window. The three regroup at a barn outside of town, where they nurse Munny back to health.

Three days later, they ambush a group of cowboys and kill Davey. After missing Davey and shooting his horse, Ned falters and Will shoots Davey instead. Although it becomes apparent that Logan and Munny no longer have much stomach for murder. Logan decides to return home while Munny and the Kid head to the cowboys' ranch, where the Kid ambushes Quick Mike in an outhouse and kills him. After they escape, a very distraught Kid confesses he had never killed anyone before and renounces the gunfighter lifestyle.

When Little Sue (Tara Frederick) meets the two men to give them the reward, they learn that Logan was captured by Little Bill's men and tortured to death, but not before giving up the identities of his two accomplices. The Kid heads back to Kansas to deliver the reward money to Munny and Logan's families, while Munny drinks half a bottle of whiskey and heads into town to take revenge on Bill. Shocked by the news, Will begins drinking and demands the Kid's revolver. The Kid hands it over, saying that he no longer wants to be a killer, and Will sends him back to Kansas to distribute the reward.

That night, Logan's corpse is displayed in a coffin outside the saloon. Inside, Little Bill has assembled a posse to pursue Munny and the Kid. Munny walks in alone and promptly kills Skinny Dubois (Anthony James), the saloon owner and pimp. After some tense dialogue, a gunfight ensues, leaving Bill wounded and several of his deputies dead. Beauchamp lingers briefly to ask how Will survived. Will replies that it was luck and scares him away. Munny orders everyone out before stopping Little Bill from reaching for his pistol. Little Bill tries and fails to take another shot at Will while lying on the floor, then bemoans his fate and curses Will, who shoots him dead. Will shouts threats as he mounts his horse and rides out of town.

A closing title card states that Will's mother-in-law found his farm abandoned years later, Will having possibly moved to San Francisco with the children. She remained at a loss to understand why her daughter married such a notorious outlaw and murderer.