Doc West (2009)

Directed by: Giulio Base, Terence Hill | 180 minutes | western | Actors: Terence Hill, Paul Sorvino, Boots Southerland, Adam Taylor, Clare Carey, Alessio Di Clemente, Kisha Sierra, Micah Alberti, Linus Huffman, Maria Bethke, Gianni Biasetti, Darrian Chavez, Benjamin Petry, Darren Gibson, Fabrizio Bucci, Dylan Kenin , Christina July Kim, Mercedes Leggett

Terence Hill was a uniquely energetic western hero in the 1970s. Shootouts, poker matches and energetic fistfights in the saloon were a staple for Hill. The latter element in particular created hilarious and classic scenes, assisted by its counterpart, the hefty Bud Spencer. They both had their own fighting style. While Spencer could take impassive blows—in the stomach, face, it didn’t matter—and knock his opponents out with a crass thud, Hill managed to drive the villains mad by leaping like a lightning gazelle or ducking down so that they all punched the air. And then with annoying, sometimes literal taps on the fingers, to get the blood from under the nails, rounded off with a well-aimed punch in the face. It was a joy to watch and never really got boring. In 2009, in the well-meaning, or rather: too well-intended, western ‘Doc West’ it is a different story. The film looks so little like his Hills crazy success films, you wonder what the makers’ intentions were. Sure, it’s great that Hill is still in it at seventy, and just as a tribute and nostalgic throwback the film provokes, the print is valuable, but it’s almost a shame it didn’t become more than that.

Two films about ‘Doc West’ have appeared, in fact separate pilot episodes of what should have been a full-fledged series. Anyone who sees these little things will not be sad that this series never came to be. It tries to create an epic, immersive atmosphere, with big emotions and melodramatic musical themes, modeled after the work of Morriccone, but it’s all way too safe, well-behaved and calculated. They have tried to make something for everyone and that has probably been the biggest misstep. This largely bloodless, saltless bite is responsible viewing food for the whole family, but no family member will be able to enjoy themselves optimally with this. ‘Doc West’ is not a bad film and every item on the checklist is neatly done – a showdown, a widow who gets a new man in her life, a young cowboy who learns wise lessons from an old mentor, a poker game with cheating and dexterous card tricks, a saloon fight – but the film does not excite or surprise at all. And Hill may still look mercury and vital at first glance, but in almost no way convinces with his slow diction and clearly less agile body. His jokes come across as read, wise advice is only seldom taken from him and during fights you believe his superiority mainly from nostalgic considerations. With Hill, you’re just willing to turn a blind eye and perhaps throw it at his opponents for surprise: that they don’t believe such an old man can offer any resistance.

Probably the biggest problem is that there’s no edge to ‘Doc West’ anywhere, least of all the title character. Yes, he has made a fatal mistake in his past that he still has to live with, but it is not due to a bad nature. Because the best man is pretty much presented here as a saint and a superman. He is a gunslinger who can injure a snake 300 meters away, but who abhors killing a man; he would prefer, like MacGyver back then, to throw away all the guns he finds. He’s also a doctor who has a solution for every ailment and injury (and even fixes people he’s just beaten up), a benefactor who helps the poor farmer in his fight against the rich rancher, and a kind of priest who seems to have a monopoly on wisdom for everyone. It’s to get itchy. In fact, the whole movie feels like “Little House on the Prairie”. Or a comic strip, in which the bad guys wrapped in ropes, sitting on a covered wagon, are taken off, and punches are accompanied by a chatter or a deep drum sound.

Now the latter is also something that belonged to Hill’s earlier success films, and these are precisely the moments when you hope for such an old-fashioned western slapstick. But unfortunately more than a handful of scenes are not spent on this style form. Somehow it would be interesting to find out how this series would develop. Because these two episodes make it clear that Hill isn’t going to repeat his former glory, but it could very well be that he’s going to let others follow in his footsteps with his experience. Because the moments when he gives all kinds of young recruits fighting and shooting lessons, and the traditional bar fights, do give the film some extra dynamics. It’s just a shame this isn’t pushed through enough and it’s mostly about Doc West himself, putting Hill way too much on a pedestal and losing much of the alluring energy and silliness of the past.