In 1996, Bruce Willis starred in “Last Man Standing,” a film that aimed to reimagine Akira Kurosawa’s iconic “Yojimbo” but ultimately fell flat. This Western, directed by Walter Hill, attempted to transpose the classic story into a Prohibition-era setting, featuring gangsters rather than samurai.
Kurosawa’s original tale centers on a nameless ronin, portrayed by Toshiro Mifune, who enters a troubled village caught in a brutal gang feud over gambling rights. This character, with a cynical and detached demeanor, manipulates both factions to pit them against one another. Kurosawa’s “Yojimbo” has had its share of adaptations over the years, most notably Sergio Leone’s “A Fistful of Dollars,” which lifted the plot almost directly and resulted in a legal dispute.
“Last Man Standing” retains many elements of the original storyline, albeit with notable departures. In the film, Willis embodies a more reserved hero, taking cues from Clint Eastwood’s portrayal in Leone’s work. Rather than Mifune’s playful cynicism, Willis presents a character who is distant and uncommunicative, lacking the same level of engagement with the chaos around him.
Walter Hill, usually known for his vibrant storytelling, missteps in his execution here. The film is plagued with an inconsistent tone—it’s an attempt at mixing the grit of gangster films with the dusty charm of the Old West, resulting in an awkward visual aesthetic. While there are moments of intense action, the overall execution feels lackluster and even dreary, leaning heavily into post-“Pulp Fiction” brutality sans any emotional resonance.
Critics were quick to voice their discontent, with Roger Ebert labeling it a “cheerless film” that seemed to forget the importance of fun. The box office results mirrored this sentiment; an estimated production cost of $67 million yielded only about $18 million in domestic ticket sales, marking “Last Man Standing” as a financial failure.
In the years following its release, this adaptation has slipped into obscurity, rarely discussed outside of retrospectives about Walter Hill’s filmography. With its drab storytelling and forgettable performances, “Last Man Standing” serves as a reminder that some classics should be left untouched. While “Yojimbo” continues to inspire filmmakers, this particular remake can undoubtedly be overlooked.
