Top Gun

A High Body Count and a Decent Cast Highlight this slightly Above Average B-Western. Sterling Hayden is a Laid-Back Gunslinger trying to Outlive His "Top Gun" Status.

Returning to His Hometown seeking something Memorable He finds Animosity and Trouble but manages to make Amends and Help out. The Bad Guys are on Their way to Take Over. Said to have Killed 36 People in Their Last Rampage, this is a Gang to be Feared.

There's an Early Role for Rod Taylor as a Cocky Squirt and John Dehner is Slimy as the Gang Leader. The Ending Shootout with Guns Blazing contain come Good Stunts and the Whole Thing is Over before Much Happens.

Overall, Worth a Watch for Western Fans, but there isn't enough to attract Anyone Outside followers of the Genre.

For a B Western, Top Gun provides top entertainment and makes a more-than-adequate contribution to its genre.

The initial conflict uses the basic premise of the Western: lone male figure, having been subjected to privation and now alone and searching for spiritual peace, finds the ultimate show-down when confronted with evil, which he tries to set right -- despite the all-powerful forces of law and nature which try to stop him. The situation -- that a top gunman is revisiting his home town to warn the citizens of a raid by the very gang he used to belong to -- is set up quickly and convincingly, even uniquely -- in a graveyard. The ensemble cast of veteran actors works well to create the tension necessary to convey a well-crafted and believable script. Sterling Hayden exudes gravitas, if not exactly charm, and his masculine presence is undeniable, nearly coming off the screen, as it does in all his films. The sets are well-constructed, and the camera work is consistent and well-planned, if not exactly subtle. The script even provides a few memorable one-liners, as when John Dehner (the heavy) gleefully tells Sterling Hayden, "Rick, you ole catamount, may you live until I kill you."

For Western fans, a gem; for Sterling Hayden fans, a treat (as the camera lingers on both his lumbering body and his rugged face for much of the film); and for cinephiles, a well-worth it adventure.

This fairly typical formula Western of "Town not trusting a gun man", in this case a gun man who has a history with the town.

Sterling Hayden is the stone faced lead, and that's not unusual. In many cases, it is a stone faced lead who goes through the motions, surrounded by more likable characters. Here, the supporting characters aren't "likable", but are credible.

What I like best about this Western is the "bad guys". They are dirty, unshaven, sloppy, and imperfect even at mayhem. Quite believable. It is this group of ravaging skunks, flea bitten mongrels, that makes this Western superior to the modern idiotic spaghetti garbage in which the bad guys are demi gods.

The townspeople are credible once one gets past the few stereotypes, like the uppity young gun. Ironically, this most ridiculous cliché has one of the biggest names of the movie portraying him (Rod Taylor).

Just a few more assets than detriments make this a decent Western.

An awful western. The trite screenplay and minimal sets are especially bad. That it has a top notch cast makes it particularly laughable, and the acting was surprisingly poor; maybe the cast members were sickened by the embarrassing script and direction. Big disappointment as I am a big Westerns fan.

To give one example of how lame the movie is, I mention this laughable "gem:" the hero (Hayden) tries to gain the confidence of the leader of the outlaws (Dehner) by offering to tell him where $50,000 in money is hidden in the town they just shot-up. Dehner seriously replies: we're so bad there is no town we can go to spend it! Hayden then has to tell him of a wide open town. Good grief!

Karin Booth shined though. Very beautiful woman.

I'm surprised that the TV Guide and MSN movie web sites gave it relatively high ratings (2-1/2 of 4 stars; and 3 of 5 stars). I wonder if they really saw the movie they reviewed. (The MSN site incorrectly said that the Booth character was married to the main bad guy. Not so, just engaged.)

I have no idea how he did it, but whatever film he was in Sterling Hayden added quality to it. He does so here in what could have been a mediocre film, but he gently rises it above that category, along with Karin Booth who is his love interest. The story is simple; a ruthless gang want to take over the town ( the very poor sets did not make it worthwhile, but then I do not think a lot of money was given to this film ) and Sterling Hayden makes sure that justice is done. There is a good subplot concerning his dead mother which is woven into this 70 odd minutes, and disliked as a ' top gun ' Hayden is, despite his bravery, not welcomed at first into returning to the town. This is where his mother's death is cleverly added on to the suspense. I like the film. It is in many ways well directed, but still falls heavily into the B-category of Western, due to the sets and a few stereotyped minor roles, poorly acted. But worth seeing for Sterling's magic at not ' acting ' at all, and yet giving a performance that stands alongside his other, better films. A final mention again for Karin Booth whose performance was, in my opinion, excellent.