8 Million Ways to Die

"8 Million Ways to Die" is a perfect example of why Jeff Bridges is one of my favorite actors. The overall movie might be muddled (even bad) but he always brings a laser focus to the job; more often than not, he keeps things alive and kicking. Here, he's playing an alcoholic cop who only really develops an interest in the case after he fails to keep his employer alive. And he really sells the self-loathing that comes with addiction.

This is one of those mid-'80s noirs, comparable to "Against All Odds" and "To Live and Die in L.A." (although not as good as either of those). The plotting is scattered throughout, but it starts out very nicely (a beautiful aerial opening) and sees a few startling lows (a snowcone negotiation and a frenzied warehouse shouting match). Trivia has it that the production was troubled by rewrites and studio interference, and that certainly shows in the final product. Ultimately, it just reminds me of better movies.

5/10

I am a huge Hal Ashby fan - he was a brilliant editor (Oscar winner for In The Heat Of The Night) and an even better director (Being There, Coming Home, Shampoo, to name a few) but this film is a mess. I just read a book on Ashby's life and here was a lot of trouble on this film - the studio wanted a sleek Miami Vice type film and of course Ashby wanted a gritty movie closer to the author Laurence Block's books. You can tell there's huge chunks missing - the film is disjointed - Bridges does a nice job playing the damaged cop but in one of the worst pieces of miscasting - Alexandra Paul plays the sultry hooker who is supposed to lure Bridges and she is awful - about all she can play is flirty sorority girl and their scenes are dull and boring. Rosanna Arquette has nothing to play - a one dimensional another hooker with a heart of gold. Garcia does his best with what he has to play and there are some good scenes btwn him and Bridges. But overall, a schlocky mess with a terrible 80's synth score.

I was baffled as to why decidedly arthouse director Hal Ashby would take on a commercial noir flick like this. It has all the scummy working parts but somehow, the blend of his quirky style and the material misses ever so slightly. It starts off REALLY strong but seems to lose a ton of gas when at the end. The film is...well, it could be a double bill with "Inherent Vice" or "Cutter's Way" A rogue alcoholic cop turned ex-cop from his mistakes attempts to investigate the murder of a hooker he had taken a liking to. That's it. He has friends in dirty places. Hookers, pimps, drug dealers, and the best part...all of them can justify their vocation. Scum begets scum and game recognizes game. And it's fun for the most part. Particularly to see Los Angeles in the 1980s. Other than that, it does become a mess. And you can tell when they just let the script go and start vamping for time. As great as an actor that Jeff Bridges, Rosanna Arquette and Andy Garcia are...they really falter when it came to improvisation. Was it that director Ashby just threw his hands up in resignation. Can't tell. But it's hard to have too many cooks into this meal. All in all, whatever may have transpired behind the scenes, I can't help but enjoy the hell out of some of the moments. A few moments is all that matters. And that's enough. Moments of dark humor are good enough for me. An interesting 80's noir flick.

Will be recognized as one of the lost classics of the 80's. Bridges gives a great performance and really seems to understand what an alcoholic acts like. has THE best hangover scene of any movie. Andy Garcia made his first impression as the bad guy. Some real off the wall action scenes. This movie got a lot of bad press when it was released. i never understood why as I felt that it was one of Ashby's better later movies. I think Ashby himself will come under a reappraisal in the years to come with his movies being recognized as some coif the best. Some of his stars gave their best performances under his direction, i.e. Jack Nicholson (The Last Detail), Warren Beatty (Shampoo); Jon Voight (Coming Home) and Ruth Gordon.

I saw this film a couple of nights ago. I only bothered as it was a Hal Ashby movie & I'm a big fan. He didn't let me down. Ok it's not a masterpiece or even amongst his best but it's still a powerfully intense thriller. Superficially similar to Scarface it is less showy, more personal & more convincing. Garcia's stylised gangster with his 'Gaudi' affectations almost unsettles the realism but is compulsive. Bridges turns in another superb performance as the hard-boiled, ex-cop battling with alcoholism & other demons. Ashby's Chandleresque take on 80's LA is familiar but beautifully vivid nevertheless. What raises it above the plethora of dark 80's thrillers is it's old-fashioned 70's values like complex character and troubled hero not in control of the narrative over fast-pace, shallow action & irony. To the post-Star Wars generation '8 Million Ways' may look meandering and indulgent but this says more about their limitations as film fans than it does about the film.