Non-2019 First Time Watches Ranked
Directors Ranked: Clint Eastwood

Film #1 of my Birth Year Challenge

"Preacher my ass."

Pale Rider is a beautifully shot, well-acted film that features an intriguing first act, a fantastic, action-packed final act and a gorilla-knuckle-like drag in the middle.

Clint Eastwood made a career of playing the "cool, tough, mysterious stranger" and he does it really well here too. The acting in general was solid which isn't always the case with these 80s films.

While the religious themes are incredibly obvious, they aren't as heavy-handed as say, The Book Of Eli. Don't get me wrong, the message is there and it's blatant. But it doesn't bash you over the head like The Book of Eli did. I actually liked the use of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as the kind-of theme for this. It was interesting.

I didn't like the whole creepy storyline with the daughter. Sure, Preacher turned away her advances but not definitively. I can kinda get why they went that way with it. He was her hero etc. But it had a creepy vibe and I just didn't like it.

Overall Pale Rider is a solid Western, but, like RuPaul, the second act is a bit of a drag...