"Silverado" is nice throwback. The 80's wasn't a decade of many westerns so this was a welcomed sight. It was simple, straight forward, and good. You knew the good guys, you knew the bad guys, and you knew there'd be a shootout.
Silverado is the name of the town where everything took place. It all boiled down to the bad guys: the McKendrick gang plus the bought sheriff, Cobb (Brian Dennehy), and the good guys: Emmett (Scott Glenn), Paden (Kevin Kline), Jake (Kevin Costner), and Mal (Danny Glover). Naturally, the good guys were outnumbered but that's OK because the good guys have ways of evening the odds.
There were a couple of added wrinkles in the story. The main wrinkle was with Paden; would he stand idly by or would he get involved. Every other good guy had a vested interest in fighting the town terrorizers, but Paden only had a loose connection to the whole matter. He was a key figure that could tip the scales in the favor of the wronged party. The only problem was that he worked for Sheriff Cobb.
Decisions, decisions.
Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Cobb was a perfect fit. The only guy who could've been as good or better would've been Gene Hackman. Dennehy and Hackman were born to play bad guys. It's like it's in their DNA. I don't know if it's their look, their voice, their easy smugness, or all of the above, but they play such hateful and hateable guys. If there were a Hollywood hall of fame with a wing for bad guys they'd be in it.
Kevin Costner played a different role than I'm used to seeing from him. He's normally a calm, reserved, strong silent type. In "Silverado" he was an amped up cocky fellow and he played it well.
The whole movie played out like you'd hope. There was enough injustice from the antagonists to get you hot and bothered. The good guys were ostensibly on the ropes. When things seemed their direst the rallying music played, the posse was formed, and things got to jumpin'. Yeah, it was everything you wanted in a western.
Silverado is the name of the town where everything took place. It all boiled down to the bad guys: the McKendrick gang plus the bought sheriff, Cobb (Brian Dennehy), and the good guys: Emmett (Scott Glenn), Paden (Kevin Kline), Jake (Kevin Costner), and Mal (Danny Glover). Naturally, the good guys were outnumbered but that's OK because the good guys have ways of evening the odds.
There were a couple of added wrinkles in the story. The main wrinkle was with Paden; would he stand idly by or would he get involved. Every other good guy had a vested interest in fighting the town terrorizers, but Paden only had a loose connection to the whole matter. He was a key figure that could tip the scales in the favor of the wronged party. The only problem was that he worked for Sheriff Cobb.
Decisions, decisions.
Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Cobb was a perfect fit. The only guy who could've been as good or better would've been Gene Hackman. Dennehy and Hackman were born to play bad guys. It's like it's in their DNA. I don't know if it's their look, their voice, their easy smugness, or all of the above, but they play such hateful and hateable guys. If there were a Hollywood hall of fame with a wing for bad guys they'd be in it.
Kevin Costner played a different role than I'm used to seeing from him. He's normally a calm, reserved, strong silent type. In "Silverado" he was an amped up cocky fellow and he played it well.
The whole movie played out like you'd hope. There was enough injustice from the antagonists to get you hot and bothered. The good guys were ostensibly on the ropes. When things seemed their direst the rallying music played, the posse was formed, and things got to jumpin'. Yeah, it was everything you wanted in a western.