Rating: B
Dir: Sam Raimi
Star: Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo Di Caprio
Something of a vanity production for lead and executive producer Sharon Stone, not just hand-picking director Sam Raimi, but also paying the salary of Leonardo di Caprio out of her own pocket. Like most such things, it is somewhat self-indulgent (Shazza gets Armani sunglasses and perfect hair), but most of the people involved have enough talent to keep it on the rails. This is no serious film, however, being a 100-minute homage to Sergio Leone: the plot has Stone using Hackman’s quick-draw contest to get revenge on her father’s murderer, and is largely a chance for Raimi to demonstrate interesting ways to shoot people. Never less than totally predictable, it still remains hugely entertaining: Gene Hackman is great, Lance Henriksen and Russell Crowe are very good, Di Caprio is less annoying than you’d expect and Stone gets to wear some great boots.