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Not a bad movie at all, but it does take a bit to really settle into. For a while, Sharon Stone is really trying to sell the macho gunslinger with baggage, but she's doing it with her Hollywood looks and pearly whites; she's missing grit. And that does improve later on, but like I said, patience is needed.

That said, Sam Raimi is clearly having fun in a sandbox full of Western cliches. The draws, the face zooms, the shots. It looks fantastic. If that's not enough, then it's worth a look for Gene Hackman's performance. No trace of Unforgiven here; dude's a genuine scumbag.

"The Quick and the Dead" is a "splatter Western," directed by horror vet Sam Raimi (whose latest, as of this writing, is "Spider-Man," but who cut his teeth on the "Evil Dead" trilogy). It's set in the oh-so-ironically named lawless town of Redemption, a haven of grotesques that gives us an idea what the wild West would've looked like if had been painted, not by Frederic Remington, but by Heironymus Bosch.

In a surfeit of Biblical nomenclature, the town's mayor/owner/capo is named Herod (Gene Hackman at his oiliest, complete with bad hair). Into town there rides a mysterious stranger, not Clint Eastwood this time but Sharon Stone. I'm not the world's biggest Stone fan, but this movie and "Total Recall" indicate that she has her uses in kick-butt action roles that make no demands on her limited thespianic skills. As gunslinger Ellen, she's doubly armed--with a six-shooter, and with an axe to grind; even her "inner child" packs a gun. She enters Herod's to-the-death fast-draw tournament, a no-win, no-exit, potentially no-survivors affair, with an agenda on her mind other than just winning the prize money.

This is an overripe, over-wrought movie, but it mostly works. Raimi all but erases the slim wall between the horror and Western genres: Redemption is another Transylvanian village of simple peasants lorded over by by an evil baron, and the atmosphere--palpably oppressive and claustrophobic--could be cut with a knife. Leonardo di Caprio and veteran character actors Lance Henriksen and Roberts Blossom effectively round out the cast, and the action scenes--exaggerated, mythic, often darkly humorous--deliver. If you're more of a horror fan than a Western fan, this may be the Western for you.

Sharon Stone is another gun in the old West town… It seems that she is here to pay off an old score that has haunted her since she was a child… She becomes swept up in a deadly quick-draw contest where anybody can challenge anybody in the windy dusty streets… The fighters must not draw until the clock makes the first chime of the hour… Whoever is standing after the draw is the winner… The prize is $123,000…

The lawless town of Redemption is ruled by a despicable ironfisted gunman called John Herod who takes a lot to scare him… Hackman plays pretty well the kind people hate… He is, here, a fearless, sadistic, cold-blooded killer in charge of everything, who decides who lives or who dies…

Herod wants a preacher in the tournament – even if he has to beat, kick, and knock him to the ground to force him back into it… Cort— humiliated and chained out by the fountain—used to be pretty fast, faster than Herod… But now he wouldn't hurt a fly… He is a man of peace who has renounced violence… Years ago he was an outlaw… In fact, he was only a kid when he hitched up with Herod… He singled him out because he was a little smarter, a little faster than most… Now, he must revert to his former believes to survive…

As Cort, Russell Crowe is saintly when compared to the movie's real villain… Cort tries to redeem himself, but gets enticed into the killing by Herod who is trying to prove that he's a fraud...

Several other men were just running a little errand for Herod… But Herod made an example of them all: the buffoon card shark (Lance Henriksen); the hired gun moseying into town to kill (Keith David); the teenager gunslinger who thinks he is on a different level (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Raimi succeeds through his shots of each gunfighter to show the worried and scared faces of each gunfighter, the clock counting away the time, and Herod's magnified evil smile

Now I enjoy western movies and although this doesn't have that traditional western vibe going for it, it's still pretty darn entertaining. This movie is like watching a comic book western movie come to life and although the plot is a bit absurd it's creative and has substance to it. Despite the it going in a narrow direction but it goes in a narrow direction with at least some substance. The plot is about a woman named Ellen aka Lady(Sharon Stone) who is a badass cowgirl that comes to a western town with a motive and ends up in a quick draw tournament with bunch of contestants. Anyone can challenge anyone in this tournament. The reward for winning the tournament is 120,000 dollars and the last man standing takes it all. What I liked about this movie besides it being a movie about a quick draw tournament in the west is how fun, intriguing and creative the action scenes are. A bit wacky at times but still pretty cool to watch, even the dialogue is a bit comic book like. Sharon Stone is charismatic and very attractive in this, especially with the cowgirl attire. Leo is pretty good as the Kid even if he can be a little annoying at times. Gene Hackman stands out as the villain without overdoing it and actually backs up what he says for the most part unless when he is unsure. So it isn't a shock why he owns the whole western town but this isn't the first western Gene has been in. Russell Crowe is in this and although he plays decent part in the story his character ain't nothing special and sort of comes off mundane but he was in good shape. Despite his mysterious past. Overall I enjoyed this movie, not one of the best western I seen but it's a pretty cool one.

7.8/10

In the Western town of Redemption John Herrod runs everything, they say he gets half of every dollar spent or earned. In order to face his enemies face on he runs an annual quick draw contest where fights battle each other until only one remains. The winner takes home a small fortune – the losers leave wounded if they are lucky. Into this contest comes a group of hopefuls including a woman who has personal reasons for signing up.

Looking at the list of names it is evident that the casting director is very good at his/her job as they managed to catch several big names, get several stars who were a few years away from hitting big and also get veteran faces as well. The ensemble of well known faces suits this film as the focus is very much on style and appearance than it is on substance. As a plot it takes the well known genre of the revenge western and makes a sort of pastiche of it. Thus we have the OTT and hyper direction of Rami and gun fights that are delivered with energy and shots that have no bearing to reality.

When I think about the actual plot, it really should bother me more than it does. The plot is pretty thin and contains nothing that you can't see coming from about the first 20 minutes of the film – certainly the woman's `secret' will be no mystery to anyone who has seen `Once Upon A Time In The West' which it clearly apes in this regard. What exists in the place of a wider plot is characters and style. The style is fun and energetic and will appeal to fans of Evil Dead etc.

The characters themselves are also pretty good, each has a little back story which helps to fill out the running time without getting too serious. Stone does surprisingly well in the lead, she's no Clint Eastwood but she leads the cast well – which is no mean feat when you look at the credits. Hackman is a gleefully good villain – even more mean and unrepentant that his character in Unforgiven. Crowe and DiCaprio were both a few years from the levels of stardom they now hold, but both are engaging and enjoyable. The support cast is also full of names and faces you'll recognise – either as solid support actors of recent films or older faces. For example – Henriksen, David, Sinise, Hingle, Bell and Blossom.

Overall this film might infuriate you if you are looking for a film that has more substance than style, as this is the other way round. However fans of Rami's style and/or revenge westerns will find much to enjoy here. Every time I see it I always find it hard not to get caught up in the atmosphere it creates.