Hard Bounty

The Action Mutant…
has something in his eye. No, wait…I’m supposed to because it’s a Spaghetti Western.


Hard Bounty


review by Joe Burrows


Perspective:
Nothing much new to update, other than TAM is officially part of the MySpace conspire…err, web universe. Visit that page here and see if you want to join the all important, status affirming, friend’s list! Together, we can make this world a more action film conscious one…or celebrate the emergence of the erotic, faux-“Spaghetti” Western! Because that’s one sub-genre you have just been dying to see materialize.

The Plot, as it was:
Matt McCoy (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach) stars as Kanning, a cold bounty hunter who’s only moments of peace come when he stops by the town saloon to visit Donnie (Kelly LeBrock), the leader of a pack of prostitutes that ply their trade there. Something from Kanning’s past is haunting him and it rides into town in the form of Carver (John Terlesky), a ruthless hired gun that is in charge of clearing land for his railroad company employers (though he uses more force than his boss cares for). When one of the whores ends up dead by Carver’s hands, Kanning, Donnie and her buxom brood stand up against Carver and his henchman in the requisite “high noon” shootout.

Don’t shoot me…I’m only the reviewer!:
For those keeping track, its Bad Girls meets High Noon meets a Playboy shoot but hell, it strangely works in small doses. Corman disciple Jim Wynorski makes the most of his sparse sets and budget though it shows through in a few ways (very little blood in the kills, for example). Wynorski’s smart in the sense that when the story starts to lag, he just slaps in a nude scene or two to keep the viewer awake until the next lull arrives (and this was written by a woman, oddly enough). McCoy does a fair Eastwood imitation though it doesn’t go far past the obvious inspiration. LeBrock makes a nice complement to McCoy with her passionate exterior and has far better delivery than the three “actresses” that accompany her (to be fair, I’m sure the roles they get don’t require delivery to be the main thing to look for). It doesn’t take a Baby Einstein to figure out that there’s nothing new here and whether or not you make it to the predictable conclusion may depend on how well you take to the snappy innuendos (“They ain’t gonna bite, kid…that costs extra.”), fake tits and cheap surroundings. It may work on a rainy day and it may not be the worst of its kind but don’t take that as the most ringing of endorsements.

Body Count/Violence: 35. Only one of the many shootings in the film has any blood in it so don’t go looking for any fine, technical mastery behind the violence here. It’s all shooting all the time though there is a strangling via a belt in there as well.

Sexuality/Nudity: If this movie had a whore’s name, it’d be “Tits McGee”! Softcore/direct to video vets Kimberly Kelley, Rochelle Swanson and Felicity Waterman all bare their ample assets in several scenes of undress. Funny…women must have had great plastic surgeons in the Old West judging by the fake tittery on display. LeBrock, being the “name” actress here, shows nothing but does strut around in many a lacy lingerie set. Though there are many topless scenes, only a few have prolonged sexuality going on.

Language/Dialogue: None.

How bad was it?:
Not many reviews about this but they all seem pretty mixed. If you follow the venerable Joe Bob Briggs’ review and just keep your tongue firmly in your cheek, you’ll find it more favorable.

Did it make the studio’s day?:
Sunset Films International produced this and it was released sometime in 1995. Not much else to go by, really.

Film: **/*****
Entertainment value: ***1/2/*****

Copyright 2008 The Action Mutant.