Silverado

Starring: Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, Danny Glover, John Cleese, Jeff Goldblum, Brian Dennehy, Jeff Fahey, Rosanna Arquette, Linda Hunt, Richard Jenkins
Directed by: Lawrence Kasdan
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Western, Action
1985

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A group of gunfighters come together to battle corruption in the town of Silverado.

Review:

Tim: I really, really enjoyed Silverado. This is a movie that came out when Westerns were already on the decline, but it shows how great this genre can be. This is a fun, entertaining movie that boasts an incredible cast. It's a great Western.

The film does follow many conventions of the genre, but it has a lot of fun with them. This is a lighthearted film about serious matters. The music was just incredible- rousing and exciting. The cinematography was brilliant and memorable. More than anything else, though, this is just an entertaining film. It gives us interesting and likeable characters, puts some big challenges and obstacles in their way, and we get to sit back and watch the fun. This is a very, very enjoyable movie.

The cast is just incredible. I really liked Kevin Kline here. He's a comedic actor, but he has enough gravitas to pull off this gunfighter role. He is believable in the part and yet has the right comedic timing for the lighter moments as well. His Paden is a fascinating character. Scott Glenn did great work as Emmett. He is certainly more straight-faced than Kline, but he is likeable as well. I really enjoyed the interactions between these two actors. I believed their budding friendship on screen. Kevin Costner was a great addition as Glenn's younger brother. His performance needed a bit more restraint, but he was a lot of fun and brought great energy to the set. Danny Glover was a brilliant addition and I loved the commentary on racism in the West. It was really hard to see those racist scenes, but it serves as a good reminder of what African Americans had to deal with then, Glover is a very good actor and added a great deal to the cast. If this movie just had those four actors- Kline, Glenn, Costner, and Glover, you would have a remarkable cast. Luckily, the supporting players are every bit as good.

I loved seeing John Cleese in a small role as a town sheriff. It was an unexpected casting, but he did well in his brief role. Jeff Goldblum was a great addition as a man who may be good or may be bad. Brian Dennehy did great work as the film's eventual villain. He has such charisma and worked so well in the role. Jeff Fahey was good as an unlikeable villain. Linda Hunt and Rosanna Arquette further add to the outstanding cast. Even if you don't like Westerns, this amazing cast makes this film a must-see.

The movie does a good job of establishing our characters and devoting time to their development. There's also a lot of fun action scenes throughout the film. This is a movie that moves at a good pace, so it's 133 minute run time never feels too long. As far as the film's climax- I like that each character had their own climactic moment to deal with, but I do wish we had a few more fireworks at the end.

While the film does follow a few too many genre conventions, the movie is just widely entertaining. I've always enjoyed Westerns, and Silverado is a perfect example of how great these films can be. Director Lawrence Kasdan did a fantastic job here. This movie is one of the best Westerns of the 1980s.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Unforgiven, Wyatt Earp, Once Upon a Time in the West