Good cast, strong sound editing, and Walter Hill's usual steady hand can't save this strangely dull action-oriented Western. I suppose that isn't too surprising since Walter Hill, after a strong string of hits in the 70's and 80's largely delivered a lot of okay-but-not-great films in the 90's. In this regard, his career perfectly mirrored John Milius, John Carpenter, George A. Romero, David Cronenberg, and Larry Cohen. I wonder why it seemed to hit so many directors around the same time, but their firebrand sensibilities that lit the 70's cinema on fire seemed to just get tired and fade away by the 1990's.
WILD BILL is a perplexing piece as it boasts an impressive cast and production design. However, the script and many of the characterizations fall flat. Bridges feels a touch too old to play Wild Bill Hickock but he does fully commit himself to the character (as though "The Dude" were a Western lawman). Sadly much of his characterization gets lost among the many, many red herrings such as his advanced syphilis and loss of eyesight playing no role in the film's last half.
The real unfortunate side of the film is that its focus seems to be aimed mainly at his last week of life while zipping through all the more interesting episodes in its first half hour. As soon as he shoots the man in the wheelchair dead and we meet our incoming antagonist, the film slows down tremendously with Arquette coming off as the wimpiest and least threatening villain I've seen since Mario Van Peebles in EXTERMINATOR 2.
Walter Hill did the Western so much better years earlier with THE LONG RIDERS and even his pseudo westerns like EXTREME PREJUDICE and LAST MAN STANDING, disappointing as they may be, come off far more watchable that this film. For those interested in Wild Bill Hickock's adventures, watch the TV show "Deadwood" for something mildly more historical, or see THE WHITE BUFFALO if you're in the mood for something far less historical but much more stylized and fun.
WILD BILL is a perplexing piece as it boasts an impressive cast and production design. However, the script and many of the characterizations fall flat. Bridges feels a touch too old to play Wild Bill Hickock but he does fully commit himself to the character (as though "The Dude" were a Western lawman). Sadly much of his characterization gets lost among the many, many red herrings such as his advanced syphilis and loss of eyesight playing no role in the film's last half.
The real unfortunate side of the film is that its focus seems to be aimed mainly at his last week of life while zipping through all the more interesting episodes in its first half hour. As soon as he shoots the man in the wheelchair dead and we meet our incoming antagonist, the film slows down tremendously with Arquette coming off as the wimpiest and least threatening villain I've seen since Mario Van Peebles in EXTERMINATOR 2.
Walter Hill did the Western so much better years earlier with THE LONG RIDERS and even his pseudo westerns like EXTREME PREJUDICE and LAST MAN STANDING, disappointing as they may be, come off far more watchable that this film. For those interested in Wild Bill Hickock's adventures, watch the TV show "Deadwood" for something mildly more historical, or see THE WHITE BUFFALO if you're in the mood for something far less historical but much more stylized and fun.