Emilio Estevez is nameless Cowboy hunting down a half million dollars worth of Confederate gold in this very exciting homage to the spaghetti westerns of the 1960's. Cowboy finds out about the gold from Dooley (William Forsythe, playing a rare good guy role). Dooley is a one-legged Confederate veteran who has a holster that contains part of a map that will lead to a half million dollars in gold. Dooley also has Col. Skinner (Jonathan Banks) and a bunch of renegade Confederates on his tail. Cowboy also has problems, being tracked by Reager (Howie Long) and his band of Regulators for the killing of Reager's son. Cowboy and Dooley team up to find the other three holsters, complete the map, and get the gold.
Writer/Director Quintano uses the opening gunfight to tell the viewer that this is not your run-of-the-mill cable television western. You can spot tips of the hat to "The Matrix" and John Woo films as Cowboy leaps, jumps, and shoots from the hip in more ways than one. The best scene involves Cowboy dropping a drink, pulling and shooting a bad guy, and catching his drink before it hits the floor. Quintano, who has worked on everything from "The Musketeer" to Police Academy films, does an excellent job. His use of the camera will recall those great Sergio Leone films, and he takes the action one step further, defying all logic and belief, and making it really thrilling to watch. My one quibble is that I wish the villains Skinner and Reager had been fleshed out more, but this is a minor complaint. Estevez seems physically wrong in the role, but he is not the quipping Billy the Kid of the "Young Guns" series. He eventually won me over, and I liked what he did with a role he is wrong for. Forsythe is great as Dooley, the peg legged treasure hunter. He is likable without going into comedy relief territory. Ed Lauter is also here as one of the pair's earliest partners, and his part is just right. Long has a good look about him, and he is tough. He should have been taking roles like this in order to bone up his skills before tackling the big screen- "Firestorm," anyone? Banks does not have much to do, but he is also good as the Confederate commander. Plot and exposition are spotty as the main attraction here is the action. Thankfully, Quintano keeps us interested with incredible set pieces you have never seen in a western before. This is not a documentary, Quintano lets you know this right away, so as bodies fly through the air and stagecoaches explode, you are totally enthralled. "Dollar for the Dead" probably could have handled itself in a big screen release. This is definitely a good one, and I highly recommend it.
