Don't watch this film for quality. It's quite generic, most of the acting is second-rate, and the cinematography is pretty much non-existent. That out of the way, this is still a really good film. It's an enjoyable plot, constructed Western-style, to manipulate the viewer into a specific reactionary mode. There's the good guys, the bad guys, and a really great showdown. Sub-plots?? Who needs 'em! Sex? Bah! Violence? Enough to please the average blood-thirsty film-goer, but not enough to push away everyone else. I think what really pushes this film above it's seemingly highest limits it's a very strong main cast. The secondary cast is average, nothing really special about them, but the main three characters have personality, a strong sense of the characters they play. James Woods is the strongest of then. Woods has this habit of signing on with generic, hopeless films and making them worth watching (The Hard Way comes straight to mind), and he usually surrounds himself with a strong, expressive supporting cast. This film is no exception; he adds character to Gabriel that I'm sure wouldn't be apparent in the script. He becomes the character and the character moulds to his own perspective. Louis Gossett Jr. backs up Woods nicely. He pretty much plays himself (which is always an amusing role). he also has a habit of signing on with awful films, though he's not nearly as successful as Woods in improving them (one word: Firewalker). But here, his chemistry with Woods shows. They play off of each other very nicely, and most of the film's strongest lines, even scenes, involve the two of them (especially in the showdown boxing scenes, where their dialogue is at it's absolute best). Oliver Platt and Bruce Dern also help to raise the level of the film. I've always been a fan of Platt's, and this is no exception. Like Gossett Jr, his chemistry with Woods is strong and some of the film's best lines are when they're together. Dern is as strong as he can be with a fairly one-dimensional character; he's a very expressive actor, and so his facial expressions and body language help to strengthen an unfortunately weak character. In other words, he did the best with what he had to work with. Heather Graham...adorable and a strong actress. But not in this film. In fact, I have no idea why she was even in this film, her character was a transparent plot device, and was all but useless. In some films, using a character to further the plot or explain important details can work out fabulously (like the janitor in The Fisher King) but here it falls flat. Her dialogue is stilted, and her character is only there for very obvious purposes. And the frail attempt at sparking up a sort of love-interest between her and Woods fizzles miserably through lack of chemistry and the dissipates altogether after a few appraising glances and a flat flirtatious word or two. The biggest problem with this film is the ending. Obvious and overly cheezy, it also falls very flat. Anti-climactic beyond belief, I felt robbed. I wanted more. The boxing matches were well-constructed and when they finished the film probably should have just ended there. But it was dragged out with a few very poor and generic scenes that wasted the sense of fun which had been predominant throughout the film. Overall, definitely worth watching at least once, especially for fans of Woods, Platt and/or Gossett Jr. A film likely to be forgotten soon after watching, but fun to watch just the same. 7/10.
Review of Diggstown
