Review of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Hate to say this but this film starts off as a badly tuned guitar. The opening 25-30 minutes are clunky, loud and unmemorable. Only when Leone passes the half-hour mark does he find his true ground and plays the rest of the film in a memorable and we-all-love-to-love fashion. Westerns have largely been nitty, gritty, ruff, tuff and violent, and this film is no exception. Three characters with little or no soul in them start off an epic journey to find a stash of gold buried in a cemetery. This is the third time we're seeing The Man With No Name and the second time Angel Eyes, but they suddenly become just faces at the arrival of the newcomer, Tuco. Not only he makes us forget about the others but demands your utmost attention and concentration. Leone's Western characters have always been interesting and/or mysterious but none has been like Tuco here; Wild, cruel, sadistic, practically all of the 7 deadly sins and then some. You get to see so many different sides of him and they change so rapidly that if you were feeling remorseful of him in one scene then you were feeling hostile towards him 20 seconds later. Since the other two speak, in contrast to Tuco, very little, the latter makes all the gaps in the film interesting.

Just like the previous two films, this one is too violent and gory. What I like about this film is that everything seemed authentic. Every gunshot sounded real, every fall was convincing, every piece of clothe seemed lived in, every character and their mannerisms seemed bloody perfect and all that. Virtually everything felt real, as if you travelled back in time in a time-machine.

In the performances, both Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef were great in their roles but it was Eli Wallach that stole the spotlight. His character, although unlikable, was the most human and Wallach played him so seamlessly that he should've been nominated for an Oscar. The supporting and the minor were fine but they were better than most extras and/or supporting cast from other films. They were also in harmony with the film and kept it going.

In conclusion, this film plays like an explosion at the blood factory and is a great example on how to make a simple story entertainingly complex. Don't just watch this installment, watch the full trilogy.

8.5/10