How has High Noon
not been remade a dozen times? It's a simple, compelling concept that sounds
like it would be easy enough to pull off. It's basically one action sequence
and a bunch of talking for the 80 minutes before it. That sounds like a
low-budget dream for a filmmaker trying to prove his/her mettle before taking
over the next Jurassic Park movie. I suppose the Rio Bravo slant is a bit more
straightforward and has been remade a lot. I don't see a lot of High Noon
imitations. I don't even see the "in real time" trick used much.
High Noon's
reputation precedes it a bit too much. It's pretty good. I certainly like the
idea of it more than the actual thing. The early scenes when Gary Cooper is
trying and failing to get support are nicely anti-"Hollywood", but I
don't feel the tension rising that much. Perhaps that's just because I was so
certain that Cooper would get out of it fine in the end. The final shootout was
nicely under-produced. It wasn't quite big enough to justify the build though.
I think Cooper is
terrific. It's smart that the villain was almost entirely developed through
second-hand stories. He's more of a boogey-man than a man. The age gap between
Cooper and Grace Kelly was a little too stark to ignore.
I'll admit, this
is a movie I'm feeling bad that I didn't like it a lot more. I don't know if
this is a bias again older movies at play or if I'm just not acclimated to the
pacing of a movie of this ilk. I just can't find a lot of excitement for it.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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