Man With No Name Trilogy

Finally I managed to finish the Sergio/ Clint Eastwood trilogy yesterday with the second in the series, A Fistful of Dollars. So I thought I'd do a small round up of the three:

A Fistful of Dollars

The first in the trilogy is by far the weakest. It just felt like an average western with Clint Eastwood's cool but calculated nature and Ennio Morricone's (as always) catchy western 'theme tune' being the only major highlights. All the other characters are uninteresting and fade into nothing more than a plot driver. The plot is also pretty bland. Nothing particularly special at all. I guess it had to start somewhere though! [B-]

For a Few Dollars More
This is more like it! Building upon A Fistful of Dollars in leaps and bounds with Clint's charming nature returning and Ennio Morricone creating yet another even more memorable piece of music which represents a very large chunk of the Western genre to me. Lee Van Cleef plays a bounty hunter after Gian Maria Volonté, (Who Clint is also after!) both adding that much needed extra character. Along with many other quirky townsfolk (see the crazy old guy living next the train station). The plot is also far more interesting, although unfortunately falls to a weaker second half where the climax feels a little stretched out. Most importantly though it's just far more fun and creative, with gunman shooting the ends of cigarettes off, and a hilarious confrontation between Lee and Clint where the two shoot at each others hats (listen out for the amazingly hilarious cartoon hat falling noise). [A]

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
I think most would agree that this is the best in the trilogy. Maybe I made the mistake of watching this first, but I could still see the journey and learning curve Sergio took. This in itself is something unheard of today when we get Hollywood feeding us the same films over and over, intent on the sole aim of making money (yes I'm looking at you Hangover 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean 4!). The Good, The Bad and the Ugly has everything: Clint Eastwood, Ennio Morricone's score debatably improving once again (which I would tend to agree with), even more iconic characters (the alcoholic union captain and Tuco - the Ugly - being just two very fine examples) and a fun, constantly engaging plot (with no slightly weaker second half). There's always something new and interesting round the corner in their journey, and the relationship between Clint and Tuco is handled perfectly, meaning we care a lot more about the characters and their fate. Its also far more beautiful to look at. Its just the perfect western. A perfect way to finish the trilogy and maybe even my favourite film of all time! [A*]