Movie Review: The Dollars Trilogy

It's been some time since the Coronavirus quarantine has grasped the entire world in its clutches. And it does not look like it is going to let us outside anytime soon. Trapped inside our own houses, our abodes have grown into a prison, a place of comfort into a place of boredom. What can one do in this monotonous hellscape?

Well, I watched the Dollars trilogy.

The Dollars trilogy is a set of three films directed by Sergio Leone which kickstarted the Spaghetti-Western genre. The movies feature rough and tough bounty hunters making a living in Wild West through bullets and brawls. Though the three films were supposed to be their own standalone stories, the presence of Clint Eastwood playing the iconic bounty hunter, The Man with No Name, sealed them as a trilogy for good.

Still, there are loose connections between the three movies: A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and one can say that the third film is a prequel to the other two.

So how was it? Well, I have mixed feelings. Not in any way to say I didn’t enjoy them. I enjoyed them, but it had its great ups and some serious lows.

The first film, A Few Dollars More was an enjoyable flick, and I might have enjoyed it more, had not I previously watched a film which had inspired it, the superb samurai film Yojimbo. Those who have watched it can clearly see its spirit permeating in A Fistful of Dollars, but the skin is of a lower grade. But, one can enjoy it for what it is. An action-packed western with Clint's Eastwood's character's dominating presence.

For a Few Dollars More is where the fun begins. It is the best movie in the trilogy. Sergio Leone fully comes into his own element, and not once during the movie I felt there was anything derivative in it. It had a soul of its own. The tension, the action shots, the brooding silence--everything felt top-notch. Plus, playing along with Clint Eastwood’s The Man with No Name is Lee Van Cleef’s Colonel Douglas Mortimer, an equally skilled marksman and as charismatic as Eastwood. Truly, For A Few Dollars More is one of the most satisfying films I have ever watched and can proudly call itself one of the best Westerns in the world.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is the worst of the three. It is a sad thing to say for I had very high hopes for it. It was said that it was the most well-known of the trilogy and viewing the film I couldn't understand why. It is a very long film which felt even longer because of its pacing. Large stretches of time are spent for antics, and the villain of the film is weaker than the previous films. It drags on and on until you just feel like you want it to end already. Certainly, it had its good scenes, but it still couldn't equalize itself with the first film and it is oceans away from the second one.

So, if you are thinking of watching the Dollars trilogy, watch it in this order:

1. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

2. A Fistful of Dollars

3. For A Few Dollars More

Basically, end the movies on a high note. Stay safe and stay inside, folks. And may God bless you all.