Touches You

Great Film overall

As Good As It Gets

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Yes, Hired Gun clearly has a far left perspective story-wise, which contributes to some of the absurdity found in the film. Now I happen to enjoy absurdity, but that and the liberal perspective are beside the point, the point being whether or not the film entertains. Unfortunately, not enough to recommend it, and I don't say that out of some political bias (for ex., I enjoyed the dtv film Conspiracy with Val Kilmer). My guess is that the folks responsible for Hired Gun were not trying to make any kind of political statement, rather they were just injecting what they know into the film, leftism.At any rate, this was an ambitious film that evidently lacked all of the proper resources and an adequate budget. Some filmmakers recognize the limitations and adjust the story or budget accordingly, scaling back if necessary, this film did not. As a result many elements are lacking, the action scenes are nothing to write home about, dialog is standard fare, and a crucial plot point suffers because of sub-par special effects. Certainly some things work, for example the leads Shane Wood and Esther Canata have solid screen presence and nice chemistry with one another. This is an honest effort from those involved, but unfortunately it falls short in my humble opinion.

This is a typical offensive Hollywood PC fantasy. The White Man is bad, America caused terrorism by winning WWII, the average southerner drives a truck and likes to shoot harmless "undocumented workers", the Police and FBI are corrupt, you get the idea. The way women are portrayed is also offensive, as they are victimized by, you guessed it, the white man.The sad part about it was that a certain small percentage of people want to think this is accurate. A movie should be entertaining. Hired Gun failed at that, but then I think it was mainly trying to reinforce a left coast view. The only reason I didn't give it a 1 is that it had one or two amusing action scenes. However, I wish I didn't rent it. It is not worth watching, even for free. I turned it off in disgust. This could have been made by a clueless left wing college professor. Maybe it was.

I cannot agree with the first reviewer of "Hired Gun". In an time when most films we see are either vampire films or teen slasher films, it is refreshing to see a good action film. Shane Wood is in good form as the titular gunman, despite an injured ankle. Why do I think this film is excellent? It is a welcome change from the run of the mill zombie film. It has a purpose, a story arc, and it has heart. It also has Shane Wood and Michael Madsen, a madman to be sure, without whom the film would not have been possible. Thumbs up to Shane Wood, and I hope he continues with a successful acting career. Few actors work harder at it. He is dedicated, well-prepared, and a workout fanatic. He cares about his work and his family, as well. All though he has been working in film for a while, as stunt man and a special effects man, this acting gig should be a new beginning for Shane; one that I hope will be a fruitful one.