For a Few Dollars More

Movie Review: For a Few Dollars More (Per qualche dollaro in più)

Year of Release: 1965
Country of Origin: Italy, Spain, Germany
Director: Sergio Leone
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volontè, Mara Krupp

Plot outline: Two bounty hunters join forces to bring an outlaw to justice (IMDb).

For a Few Dollars More is the second in Sergio Leone’s “Dollars Trilogy” following A Fistful of Dollars. Both the leads, Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef, manage to make every little thing they do, be it lighting a cigarette or sipping a drink, seem super-cool-badass and the movie is a joy to watch because of it. Unfortunately, Gian Maria Volontè can’t quite match the intense charisma of Eastwood and Van Cleef in his role as the lead villain. It’s a real shame, made even more frustrating by the presence of Klaus Kinski as one of the henchman. Kinski, in his all too brief scenes, easily matches Eastwood and Van Cleef in terms of screen presence and would have been a much better choice for the lead villain. (Granted, you’d have to rewrite the part as Kinski can’t really pass for a Mexican bandit, but that’s not crucial to the story.) Compounding the weak casting is the long running time. At 130 minutes, the movie simply drags whenever Eastwood or Van Cleef isn’t on the screen. Thankfully this isn’t often, but it is enough that you notice. (FML)

My judgement: *** out of 4 stars