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Yay deep movies. XD
Apr. 20th, 2006 09:07 pmThis afternoon I watched The Good Guys and the Bad Guys again. I really love it. XD It's fun, it's deep, and it has Jimmy. **laughs.** But seriously, the title makes it seem like such a simple thing. And yet it isn't. There is no stark black and white in this movie. There are lots of "shades of grey." An important comment was made near the end about how one must be able to tell the good guys from the bad guys. And it isn't always easy.
For instance, the mayor is supposed to be one of the good guys. And yet he is self-centered, egotistical, and an adulterer. Everything he does in the film is either to make himself look good or to satisfy his sexual pleasures. He tries to make excuses for doing things, such as because he has a duty to the people, and yet it's clear that he just wants to look heroic so that he can keep climbing up the political ladder. He does not have any honor.
On the other hand, the character John McKay is supposed to be one of the bad guys. But he has honor, integrity, and doesn't believe in unnecessary killing. When one of the young people who is basically running the gang now ends up killing an old man unfairly in a fight, McKay leaves in disgust and tries to help the other main character, Marshall Flagg, to stop them from committing their train robbery the next day.
That brings us to another of the movie's themes, which is that older people aren't idiots and that they know more than young people often give them credit for. It's the older characters, Flagg and McKay, who are able to save the town, while the poor, young deputy who hasn't had much experience is stymied. But! Not all the older people are smart, and not all the younger ones are going around half-cocked and/or without knowing what they're doing. The mayor is an older character who does not get any respect from me because, well, he frankly doesn't deserve it.
On the other hand, I firmly believe that one of the younger members of the gang has more honor than the mayor ever could. This character's name is given as "Buckshot," but I don't recall anyone actually addressing him by name in the film. Buckshot is normally quite a quiet person, not wanting any trouble, and also, it would seem, not approving of unnecessary killing. He is the only one who tries to stop his comrade from unfairly gunning down an old man whom he is angry at. He is unsuccessful, but he still tries. And while the idiot mayor is very two-faced, Buckshot just lives his life the way he sees fit and makes no apologies. Near the beginning of the film, he makes the comment that robbing the train "beats breaking your back for three dollars a day." At first I thought the comment indicated laziness, but I have started to rethink it since. Three dollars a day does seem like an unfair amount of money if you're working really hard all through the day. I know around the turn of the last century three dollars was worth more than it is today, but still.... **shrugs.** And yeah, robbing's bad, but I don't know, I saw some sort of honor in the Buckshot character. All he wanted was the money, too; he didn't go trying to kill anyone.
For instance, the mayor is supposed to be one of the good guys. And yet he is self-centered, egotistical, and an adulterer. Everything he does in the film is either to make himself look good or to satisfy his sexual pleasures. He tries to make excuses for doing things, such as because he has a duty to the people, and yet it's clear that he just wants to look heroic so that he can keep climbing up the political ladder. He does not have any honor.
On the other hand, the character John McKay is supposed to be one of the bad guys. But he has honor, integrity, and doesn't believe in unnecessary killing. When one of the young people who is basically running the gang now ends up killing an old man unfairly in a fight, McKay leaves in disgust and tries to help the other main character, Marshall Flagg, to stop them from committing their train robbery the next day.
That brings us to another of the movie's themes, which is that older people aren't idiots and that they know more than young people often give them credit for. It's the older characters, Flagg and McKay, who are able to save the town, while the poor, young deputy who hasn't had much experience is stymied. But! Not all the older people are smart, and not all the younger ones are going around half-cocked and/or without knowing what they're doing. The mayor is an older character who does not get any respect from me because, well, he frankly doesn't deserve it.
On the other hand, I firmly believe that one of the younger members of the gang has more honor than the mayor ever could. This character's name is given as "Buckshot," but I don't recall anyone actually addressing him by name in the film. Buckshot is normally quite a quiet person, not wanting any trouble, and also, it would seem, not approving of unnecessary killing. He is the only one who tries to stop his comrade from unfairly gunning down an old man whom he is angry at. He is unsuccessful, but he still tries. And while the idiot mayor is very two-faced, Buckshot just lives his life the way he sees fit and makes no apologies. Near the beginning of the film, he makes the comment that robbing the train "beats breaking your back for three dollars a day." At first I thought the comment indicated laziness, but I have started to rethink it since. Three dollars a day does seem like an unfair amount of money if you're working really hard all through the day. I know around the turn of the last century three dollars was worth more than it is today, but still.... **shrugs.** And yeah, robbing's bad, but I don't know, I saw some sort of honor in the Buckshot character. All he wanted was the money, too; he didn't go trying to kill anyone.
