Unforgiven

This is an old movie that I saw. It is a good movie. I'm a sucker for movies that are stacked with sweet actors, so when I heard about a western movie starring Gene Hackman, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Richard Harris, I knew I had to see it.

Clint Eastwood plays the classic reluctant western movie hero, a retired killer coming back for one last job, but the movie doesn't rely on many of the western archetypes. Clint isn't the sheriff, he's a killer reformed by his late wife that hasn't touched a drop of liquor in ten years and needs a double-barreled shotgun to hit a tin can from 20 feet. The movie never really says who the good guys and bad guys are, and any of the characters could probably fit into either role.

There's a weird subplot with Richard Harris's character that never seems to go anywhere. I guess it's a chance to show the darker aspects of Hackman's character, but that could have been done without going into a dead end. The other thing I'm a little hung up on is the Jackie Chan-Drunken Master turn the movie takes at the very end, where Clint gets back on the wagon (or is it off?) and becomes a super-cowboy again. It was disappointing and is the kind of ending that I was afraid Gran Torino would have.

Cost/Benefit analysis: I downloaded this movie for free, so it didn't cost me anything. It's totally worth a rent for fans of westerns and suckers for big casts .