Viewed in
2010
Premise
A small group of gold diggers are bullied by a greedy businessman, until Clint Eastwood the preacher appears.
Loved
Clint Eastwood as ninja cowboy.
Disliked
Subplots.
Thoughts
It was pretty much what I was hoping for out of a Clint Eastwood western.
Eastwood still had his badass fastball, with a steely stare that would induce soiled pants out of any grizzled henchman. It seemed to shout out to his Sergio Leone days, as his preacher character was nameless and spoke little. The fun twist was his Batman/ninja-like fighting style, disappearing into thin air while surgically dispatching baddies with stealth.
While the fights were cool, I was amused that his spurs jingled every time he walked, but was able to remain silent whenever he was in "ninja cowboy" mode. Other amusing aspects were the Avatar-like pro-environmental themes and Jaws from the James Bond films.
The subplots were the weakest link. Some were silly and illogical, like the daughter visiting the bad guys' camp. What did she plan to accomplish there, and how could she not expect to get into trouble? Her only reason for being there was to get rescued by the plot. The awkward love triangle between preacher, mother and daughter was unbearable to watch.
Obviously not a great film, but as an Eastwood fan, I definitely enjoyed it a lot. Now why has no one created a pure "ninja cowboy" movie?
What I would change
Fixed the lighting. There were times when I could not tell what I was looking at in the dark, or in a log cabin.
