What a shame that Mr. Kasdan couldn't repeat the excellent writing and story he had with Body Heat. In my opinion, in no was is this even close to "a classic western". This kind of sham is likely what did westerns in after all. John Ford, Howard Hawks, Henry Hathaway and others who really knew how to make westerns must have spun in their graves with this piece of stuff came out. Kasdan manages to lift/copy many classic elements from really great westerns: an over-the drivers shoulder shot from inside a covered wagon, from Hawks Red River, the door frame shot near the beginning from Ford's The Searchers, and the line "Start the ball" near the end from Peckinpah's Ride the High Country, just to name three. The cast, most of whom are quite good, never really gets to shine, having to constantly gun down so many others. The number and consistency of killings is mind-numbing and even boring after two plus hours. It's like a cartoon. Apparently there were an almost endless supply of villains to be killed. And also apparently, said villains couldn't shoot worth a hoot, hardly ever hitting or even coming close to the heroes. If the old west was really like this, no one would have survived. Everyone would have been killed. In summary, Silverado is a weak story, of nearly continuous episodes of killings and violence, too infrequently punctuated with dialog or any meaningful exposition.
