Le Dernier des géants

If you're going to end your career, end it properly. In the same way that Clint Eastwood said goodbye to acting in Gran Torino, John Wayne says goodbye to pretty much everything (unfortunately) in The Shootist: to the western's most famous era, the silver screen and pure life, and he does it all with a dose of ironic perspective and harmless sentimentality. The legend left with his head held high. Four stars for the film, the fifth out of respect.__P.S. The shootouts, directed by Don Siegel, were always a blast.__P.P.S. John Wayne and James Stewart's scenes together are great. (06/02/2011)

The film is to some extent symbolic in that John Wayne died of cancer three years later and did not make any more films after "The Shooter". His life truly came to a close in the film. We can further find connections with real life. His film partner Lauren Becall witnessed the death from cancer herself when her husband Humphrey Bogart ended up going down the same path. The symbolism in Duke's career ending can also be found in the fact that J.B. Books is introduced at the beginning, but instead of using newly filmed scenes, scenes from older Wayne movies are used. The film is actually a tribute to the living legend at the time. Truly a splendid tribute he deserved. And while we're on the subject of symbolism, Ron Howard's character throws away his gun at the end. The era of gunslingers and westerns is slowly coming to an end. Although we will still see a few great ones, the western genre has never been as popular. It's as if Wayne's death (both in the film and in reality) represents the death of the genre for which he was a true personality, an icon, and a legend. (19/11/2013)