Red Rock West (1994)

Not many of these thrillers about deceit that are truly to die for get made nowadays. Red Rock West fortunately is one of the few that is. Guaranteed thrill.Mad man Dennis Hopper and the cool Nicholas Cage together with the gorgeous Lara Flyn Boyle (Twin Peaks) make the heart beat of this movie. They act splendidly. Great joy to watch them act together. Add to that a suspenseful story with many surprising twists and turns and a great soundtrack and you have got a winner called "Red Rock West".What's the story about? Nicholas Cage gets stranded in a dead end town looking for work. He gets mistaken for a hired gun by the local bar owner who wants to assassinate his own wife. Nicholas Cage plays along for the money and accepts the hit man job. How soon will the bar owner find out that Nicholas Cage isnt the hired muscle he thought he was? What follows next is a rather bizarre story, but generally it is portrayed realistically enough to not mind some small flaws in the credibility of the story. It is really suspenseful. Seen it many times already and I can still revel in this juicy plot of deceit.Too bad, about the Hollywood ending, that just made me cringe a little. Because of the last 15 minutes this movie fails to become a classic, which it could have been. Now it is just great.But I'll gladly settle for just great...

This is a movie that had slipped under my radar until this evening. Watched it pretty late at night and would recommend that as the best time to take it in. It is far fetched and a little cringe worthy in rare moments,but overall it keeps you gripped for the entirety of the movie. Acting all round is good. Dennis Hopper is fantastic - worth watching the entire movie just to see him in the car scene. Only a true maniac could act like that much of a maniac. J T Walsh was also believably sinister. I just found it enjoyable to watch overall - mostly for the little things - moments of acting brilliance and interesting shots and settings. It's kind of hard to describe but even for such a fast paced plot with so many twists and turns - the overall feel of the movie had a comforting quality about it and was vaguely reminiscent of Breakdown. Definitely worth a watch.

John Dahls opening salvo as director ranks among the best compared to his fellow contemporary directors. Sandwiched between Kill Me Again and The Last Seduction, Red Rock West was one of three "neo noirs" directed by Dahl who now finds himself marooned in TV land. It has a cast to die for and Nicholas Cage at the peak of his career. It is fantastic to see that the late J.T. Walsh is given a substantial role as bar owner/sheriff Wayne and shares as much screen time as Cage, Hopper and Boyle.Cage plays an out of work jobless drifter who in desperation pretends to be someone else to secure employment. Unfortunately the "job" requires him to murder the wife of a small town bar owner. Although he takes the money and runs from the town of Red Rock his own honesty sucks him back into the town into a shed load of trouble. Being in noir territory plot twists and deception abound. Denniis Hopper excels as hit-man Lyle. His acting is a joy to behold - all the usual Hopper mannerisms are present and the razor sharp dialogue flows from his lips in a unique style that no other actor is ever likely to replicate again. A true one off. Having said that the movies sharpest line is given to bit part actor Dwight Yoakam. My only beef is how they made sexy actress Lara Flynn Boyle look so frumpy in her rural cowgirl clothing but her acting is first class as usual.Of course there are the usual plot contrivances only found in movies in order to move the story along - the worst possibly being Cage being rescued by Hopper (the man he happens to be impersonating) just after he escapes the clutches of J.T. Walsh's crooked sheriff.I am always amazed at the blank expressions i receive when i name check this movie to others. Do yourself a favour and rent/buy this movie immediately.

Well, "Red Rock West" isn't a very original or innovative film, since it repeats many of the western's clichés from the eighties. Also, it may not have a great scenario or photography direction-- because of that, it seems to be much older than it actually is. However, the film is extremely entertaining; the story develops quickly, with an engaging and professional cast-- Nicolas Cage himself hasn't aged a day since this was released, he now looks exactly the same. The story has some interesting twists that help the film not become boring-- which is the worst element a film can have. See it without commitment and you'll have a good time.