Justin Peterson’s review published on Letterboxd:
I suppose this bunch was considered pretty wild back in the late 60s, but personally I felt like it was just a standard fare western by today's standards.
"They'll be waitin' for us ... I wouldn't have it any other way."
I have always heard how gritty Director Sam Peckinpah's films are, and how Quentin Tarantino speaks highly of The Wild Bunch. So I came into this with lofty expectations of it being one of the all-time great westerns, but sometimes those kinds of expectations can diminish what makes a film like this special. Looking back on it, the Wild Bunch did have some good action and characters, but it took a while for me to get invested in the story and overall I thought it was just ok.
The plot follows a group of outlaws that are set to make one last score, but their plan gets foiled when their payoff is far less than what they expected. But regardless they are still on the run and they end up getting involved with doing business with a crazy and ruthless Mexican general and his army, leading up to a bloody conclusion.
While I was lukewarm on the movie as a whole, there were a couple of memorable moments throughout:
- How about that grim opening with the kids watching as those scorpions get overtaken by ants
- When one of the gang members decides to create a booze shower by shooting at these barrels on the wall
- The crazy general putting his entire town in danger by spinning in a circle firing that Gatling gun
- The scene where the Wild Bunch is sharing a good laugh and taking turns drinking from a bottle of whisky. But it runs out just before the last guy
- The member of the gang getting all bloody after being dragged around by the General's men
- Finally, the film had a unique fast-cutting editing style with some slow-motion for its action scenes, that did include plenty of blood
The Wild Bunch is definitely worth checking out as an ok western adventure about a fun gang of outlaws. And maybe I will come to appreciate it more on repeated viewings.
Thanks for reading.
Happy movie watching ... SKOL!
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