Stranger 4

This review contains some spoilers.

Stupid sheriffs. There are way too many arrogant and cold-hearted sheriffs bossing people around and making life miserable for those poor citizens in their respective Western towns, and it's always fun to see them getting their what they so badly deserve, whatever movie or programme they feature in. But do any of the heroes match the greatness of Stranger? Nice knowing you John Duke, your reign is over! OK, we've seen so many "pointless action movies" over the past. We've also seen many comedies, dramas, and many other traditional genres, so it was a nice, refreshing change when I opened Stranger 4 with 3DMM. With Stranger 4, it's all about style.

One thing that has to be noted in Stranger 4 is the huge attention to detail. The buildings, both from inside and outside views, look neat and tidy, accompanied with snooker balls, bottles, and cacti. This is backed up by some of those little details. Shadows, reflections, wonderful water effects, and the like, are all noticeable and admirable. Of course, the scenery and those little details aren't enough to make a movie great. Obviously, if it's meant to be an action movie, you'd need some stunning action scenes. Likewise, for a comedy, you'd need plenty of jokes, and for a horror, you'd need to make viewers nervous watching it. So what about Stranger 4?

Stranger 4 is a little odd. You can't really class it as an action movie, and it does not do enough to be classed as a comedy movie, despite some chuckles scattered throughout the movie thanks to some amusing scenes. I'd probably put it under 'Adventure'. It's a mixed bag, yet it's still really compelling to watch it all the way through. Why? It's fun to watch, full stop. It's different to all those other movies, with a distinguishable style, and I kept watching to see what happens next. From the Terminator references to that big fat elephant, it's all good fun following Stranger hunting down that evil John Duke in the Wild West. Its simple search-and-eliminate story makes it the more fun, as it allows your brain to relax and allows you to take in everything which makes Stranger 4 what it is. You don't have to think, you just have to watch.

The dialogue, although not used much, is witty and enjoyable, and the widely-praised soundtrack is indeed as good as people say it is. Sound effects and voices get the thumbs up from me too. In fact, it's hard to find a major flaw in Stranger 4, if you were not judging the last couple of minutes. While it produces for the majority of the movie, it falters at the end with a rather anti-clamatic ending, finishing suddenly in a matter of seconds, and it does not do any justice at all to the rest of the movie. So many movies have finished so poorly in comparison to their earlier respective parts, and it is a huge shame to see Stranger 4 being listed as one of these.

Still, Stranger 4 is a must-see movie. It is, for me, one of those movies which you can watch again and again, praising all its great qualities, such as its humour, its brief action scenes, its unique style, and its fresh scenario, as well as many other superb things. Only faltering at the last hurdle, this is golden stuff, certainly one to treasure. If you haven't seen it yet, I am telling you now to put it on top of your list, and, looking back, I can now see why this was one of the highlights of the 2003 Film Festival.

Score: 91/100