“We all dream of being a child again, even the worst of us. Perhaps the worst most of all.”
Even though westerns are far past their prime, young boys still dream about roughing it out in the desert as a cowboy. The idea of riding into town on your stallion with a rifle on your back and a revolver in your holster and the brim of your hat slightly covering your eyes. We’d sit around the fire with all the other cowboys and swap tales of heroism and mischief we’d seen and done. A simple, but exciting life. This film, though about outlaws, gives the most fun, exciting, and entertaining depiction of life as a cowboy down in Texas and Mexico.
The Wild Bunch has some of the best shootouts of any movie I’ve seen, especially from westerns. They are chaotic and entertaining to watch. Outlaws, soldiers, and bounty hunters bounce in and out of cover taking shots at their enemies. Characters are blown off their feet and spin around with the force and accuracy of some of the shots. Windows, doors and walls are torn to shreds by the countless numbers of bullets flying back and forth between the opposing sides. For example, the movie opens with a rather insane shootout between the Wild Bunch and the bounty hunters in the middle of town:
I watched this on Blu-Ray so the quality of video, and possibly audio, were greatly increased compared to the DVD version. Even so, there were times where it was hard to understand parts of the dialogue and I had to look up on IMDB the story line so I could keep up with plot. It’s a rather simple story. The wild west days of cowboys and outlaws is vanishing (much like the western cinema at the time) and the outlaw gang, the Wild Bunch, are out to get one last score before they call it quits. They eventually find themselves agreeing to a plan with the Mapache, a Mexican war general. All the while, Dutch, an old member of the gang, is now hunting the Wild Bunch to end his jail sentence.
It is a fun movie with great action and some good laughs as well. Definitely a must see for any fans of westerns.
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