Red Rock West

Rating:
Summary: The movie has this to offer.......
Review: In this movie, there is about three and a half minutes of footage that is watchable, but that';s it. It's in the middle of the movie and you can see it coming in ten seconds. You watch it, and that's it. Turn the film off. The film is a turn off any way.
(Spoiler; it's the scene where the character (played by Lara Boyle starts kissing the character (played by Nick Cage) and you know where that's going...

Rating:
Summary: A twisted tale of murder, money and a mistaken identity
Review: John Dahl's "Red Rock West" has so many twists and turns in its plot that to reveal them all would do the film injustice. Michael (Nicholas Cage) arrives in Wyoming with a promised job that doesn't pan out. Without money and low on gas, he heads into the town of Red Rock West. When Michael walks into a bar and is asked by the owner Wayne (the oily and late great J. T. Walsh)if he's there about the job, Michael does what anyone would do--he says yes. What he doesn't realize is that Wayne has mistaken him for a hitman he's hired sight unseen to kill his wife Suzanne (Lara Flynn Boyle). Michael takes the $10,000, a key and heads up to Wayne's house. We're not really sure of his intentions all we do know is that he seemed like such a nice guy. When the real hit man Lyle (Dennis Hopper)shows up, things become more complicated as Michael has his money and Wayne's wife.

A clever, well written and directed film noir thriller from John Dahl ("The Last Seduction", "Joy Ride"), "Red Rock West" became a cult classic on video when it was first released. The film also has enough quirks to remind me of the same qualities that made the Cohen Brothers' "Blood Simple" and David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" memorable as well. This film isn't like those films but has a distinctive personality and visits the same genre with typically comic/dramatic results.

Although I didn't totally buy Cage as Michael, he does work his way into the role and does a convincing job. The supporting cast gives a terrific performance particularly J. T. Walsh, the underrated Timothy Carhart as his deputy and Lara Flynn Boyle. Dennis Hopper does a variation on "Frank" from Blue Velvet although his turn as Lyle is equally memorable I'm surprised he didn't spring for the role he was originally cast for that of Wayne (which Walsh plays to perfection).

The image quality on the DVD is exceptionally good and the extras consist of a running commentary from both Director Dahl and his brother co-producer/co-writer Rick. It's full of fascinating tibits about the difficulty in shooting a film like this on location. It's a pity there's no commentary from Cage, Hopper or Boyle. We also get the theatrical trailer although, curiously, there's no featurette on the making of this terrific cult classic. I would love to see this reissued with a featurette on Walsh and with deleted/alternate scenes. A great little modern noir masterpiece that's well worth renting or buying, "Red Rock West" stands as one of Dahl's best films.

Rating:
Summary: Twists, twists, and more twists.
Review: Nicolas Cage stars as Michael,an unemployed Texas roughneck desperate enough to drive all the way to Wyoming for a potential job. He is honest to a fault but always seems to be on the dark side of fate.
After failing to obtain gainful employment he stumbles into the Red Rock Bar, where the owner Wayne (J.T.Walsh), mistakes him for a heretofor unseen contract killer he hired to do in his lovely, but lethal wife Suzanne (Lara Flynn Boyle).
Wayne gives Michael the necessary details and a down payment for the hit on the adulterous Suzie. With no intent on killing, Michael takes the money and warns Suzanne about her impending demise. He also writes a letter to the local sheriff exposing the plot and splits town.
As fate would dictate, Michael is involved in an accident in which he runs down Suzannes lover during a heavy rainstorm. He takes him to the hospital where it's discovered that he's also been shot. The sheriff is summoned and of course to Michaels misfortune, Wayne is also the local law. Michael escapes while being taken on that last ride and is subsequently picked up by the real killer,"Lyle From Dallas" (Dennis Hopper) who plays the role with murderous glee.
After discovering that both he and Michael are former marines, Lyle insists on buying him a drink at, where else, The Red Rock Bar. It is there that Wayne realizes his mistake and soon he and Lyle are in hot pursuit of Michael who willingly falls into Suzannes waiting arms.
The duo are now both on the run and as the plot develops we learn that Wayne and Suzanne are actually also on the lam with 1.9 million stolen dollars which now becomes the central focus of the film.
The casting in this movie is excellent, with the actors blending well with their assigned roles, especially Dennis Hopper.
Marc Reshovsky's photography was superb, utilizing many unique angles which added to the suspense and plot development. The fim's also enhanced by director John Dahl's tight style and Scott Chestnuts rapidfire editing.

Rating:
Summary: A rewarding and richly subtle viewing experience.
Review: One of the best and most under-rated modern film noirs around. The cast are exemplary - Nicolas Cage is at his down-trodden best. The score is also fantastic - combining the mood of a noir thriller with the style of a western. Forget 'Last Seduction', this is John Dahl's masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: Dahl's Trilogy - part two
Review: One of the three Dahl's "film noir" / "road movie" and possibly the best of all. The other are "Kill Me Again" and "The Last Seduction". In this particular movie, Nicolas Cage and Dennis Hopper have excellent performances and give life to a brilliant script. Not as brilliant as in "Vampire's Kiss" and not as energic as in Lynch's "Wild At Heart", Nicolas Cage has, even though, a great performance as a naive and pure soul and Cage's character comes to be the only who makes his way out of the plot. A lesson of life? Dennis Hopper shows us that even after being on the road as an "Easy Rider" and playing the dark and mysterious "Blue Velvet"'s character, he is still on the run. As in the other two movies which complete Dahl's trilogy, there is a "femme fatale", a certain amount of money, there are men in whom she is only interested because of the cash and there is an unknown end, different at each one of the three movies.

Rating:
Summary: Dahl's Trilogy - part two
Review: One of the three Dahl's "film noir" / "road movie" and possibly the best of all. The other are "Kill Me Again" and "The Last Seduction". In this particular movie, Nicolas Cage and Dennis Hopper have excellent performances and give life to a brilliant script. Not as brilliant as in "Vampire's Kiss" and not as energic as in Lynch's "Wild At Heart", Nicolas Cage has, even though, a great performance as a naive and pure soul and Cage's character comes to be the only who makes his way out of the plot. A lesson of life? Dennis Hopper shows us that even after being on the road as an "Easy Rider" and playing the dark and mysterious "Blue Velvet"'s character, he is still on the run. As in the other two movies which complete Dahl's trilogy, there is a "femme fatale", a certain amount of money, there are men in whom she is only interested because of the cash and there is an unknown end, different at each one of the three movies.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but unsatisfying
Review: Red Rock West is entertaining, but ultimately unsatisfying. It is a story of thieves trying to double-cross each other for money they have stolen. The contrived plot ensures everyone the chance to double-cross everyone else. In this respect, it soon becomes predictable.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific, funny thriller
Review: This is as good as contemporary noir gets. What a story! All the performances are good, as is the absolutely perfect last line, one of filmdom's greats -- "I asked for Red Rock." The only reservation I have, and I'll try to keep this from being a spoiler, is that Dennis Hopper's final moment onscreen is a bit hard to swallow. But hey -- I love this little thriller.

Rating:
Summary: A real sleeper of a thriller with many twists!
Review: This much overlooked little gem is on par with such films as Blood Simple,Fargo and One False Move. First time director John Dahl(The Last Seduction)also co-wrote this twister. The movie effectively keeps the viewers interested throughout the many plot twists. A stellar cast and a terrific small town setting add to the movie's charm. Do yourself a favour and add this baby to your collection.

Rating:
Summary: It was good at first
Review: This started out as a pretty intriguing movie. You could see a lot of the twists coming after a while but they were good none the less. It seemed like halfway through the movie things started to get too far fetched. I know its just a movie but still. Cage's character was an admirable one, and Hopper was great as usual. I wouldn't buy this movie, but would rent it. Its probably a good DVD movie as well (nice scenery)