Not only was I disappointed in Pale Rider, but I was angry with it. To put it as directly as I can, this story is a rip-off of the 1953 emotionally-unparalleled western 'Shane' with Alan Ladd.
The plot is identical; only instead of cattle farming it is gold mining. Instead of the menacing gunfighter Wilson, we get a less menacing, crooked lawman who is no good without his deputies. Instead of cute little Joey, there is a dumb adolescent girl who just wants to have sex, and then there is the lead role of the Preacher.
Clint Eastwood seems a little unsure of how to approach this character. He is not sure whether to make him a tough brutal gunfighter, or an emotionally warm human being. as a result, he is not much of either.
I will say this, the first half hour of Pale Rider is sufficiently strong and engaging, enough so that you don't even notice the Shane connection. It is only when the conflict starts to emerge that things get worse and worse until the ending. Whereas Shane ended in a heart-wrenching, tear jerking way, Pale Rider ends in a bore.
This is Clint Eastwood's weakest western, and it is not one I recommend.
The plot is identical; only instead of cattle farming it is gold mining. Instead of the menacing gunfighter Wilson, we get a less menacing, crooked lawman who is no good without his deputies. Instead of cute little Joey, there is a dumb adolescent girl who just wants to have sex, and then there is the lead role of the Preacher.
Clint Eastwood seems a little unsure of how to approach this character. He is not sure whether to make him a tough brutal gunfighter, or an emotionally warm human being. as a result, he is not much of either.
I will say this, the first half hour of Pale Rider is sufficiently strong and engaging, enough so that you don't even notice the Shane connection. It is only when the conflict starts to emerge that things get worse and worse until the ending. Whereas Shane ended in a heart-wrenching, tear jerking way, Pale Rider ends in a bore.
This is Clint Eastwood's weakest western, and it is not one I recommend.