8/10
Likable tongue-in-cheek comedy Western
18 February 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Charming, blithely amoral devil-may-care rogue Jesse Smith (nicely played to the suavely cool hilt by Richard Harrison, who also co-directed this film) and peaceful, devout straight-arrow Mormon Lester O'Hara (a lively and credible performance by Donald O'Brien) are estranged half brothers who reunite after receiving a sizable inheritance from their deceased mother. The wildly contrasting mismatched duo get into all kinds of trouble while trying to claim said inheritance. Directors Harrison and Renzo Genta relate the story at a constant quick pace, maintain a lighthearted tone throughout, and pitch the amusing lowbrow humor at a very broad, yet still enjoyable level. Moreover, the plentiful outbursts of gunplay and fisticuffs are staged with considerable aplomb, with a fierce rough'n'tumble barroom boxing match between Jesse and a hulking brute rating as a definite thrilling highlight. Harrison and O'Brien display an engagingly spiky chemistry in the leads, with sound support from Gino Maturano as ruthless one-eyed bandit gang leader Poker, Anna Zinnemann as brassy prostitute Elena Von Schaffer, George Wang as an irritable Chinese restaurant owner, and Federico Boido as wily outlaw Blondie. Carlo Savina's bouncy, jaunty score further enhances the infectiously bubbly merriment. A perfectly amiable diversion.
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