Rotten Tomatoes: 92% Slow West has been part of a recent uptick in quality Westerns over the last year, grouped with the likes of Bone Tomahawk and The Hateful Eight to indicate what is arguably a strong resurgence in a genre many have long since written-off. Although defined as much as a thriller as it is an action-adventure, the focus of the film is certainly bounty hunter Silas (Michael Fassbender, on form as ever) and lovesick Scottish immigrant Jay (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they adventure West in search of Jay's love, Rose (Caren Pistorius, an intriguing young talent) - albeit for very different reasons. The action involved that warrants Slow West's inclusion on this list more specifically refers to the shootout which serves as the film's climax, where a horde of bounty hunters led by Ben Mendelsohn's Payne descend on the quiet, rural homestead of Rose and her father. The amount of other interested parties involved in the showdown speak to a decidedly 90s flavour of coincidental violence, and the entire sequence is so vivid, bright and clear thanks to director John Maclean that it looks like none of the other action finales this year - most of which have been fairly grim in their creation. The editing by Roland Gallois and Jon Gregory is masterful in its simplicity, making for a fantastic modernisation of the old school Western gunfight; yet, if anything, the masterful action sequence at Slow West's end is actually the cherry on top to what is a wonderful journey across the American West, with its interesting, well-drawn characters played mesmerisingly against stunning backdrops and a beautiful score. Just like the Westerns of days gone past.
Cinephile since 1993, aged 4, when he saw his very first film in the cinema - Jurassic Park - which is also evidence of damn fine parenting. World champion at Six Degrees of Separation. Lender of DVDs to cheap mates. Connoisseur of Marvel Comics and its Cinematic Universe.
