4 Movies That Should’ve Been Westerns
Most movies that work really well do so because of storytelling, wonderful characters, and finely tuned scripts. Those types of films could be thrown into any setting, and exist in a number of genres. They’re just that good. It wouldn’t really matter if Saving Private Ryan happened during World War II or the English Civil War. The film and the characters resonate either way and they make a movie like that last forever in the minds and memories of those of us who love them.
I contend that while some films are really great and could work in any type of genre, there are others that would work better if they were “simplified” a bit. Not simple in the storytelling or character development, but simple in terms of the setting. Let’s set some of these modern films in the American West. A place where hard men ran things and the constant struggle for survival was more important than today. Let’s take a stab at a few of my favorite examples:
Streets of Fire (1984)
Let me start by saying that I think this is a perfect movie. The cast is incredible and the style and tone of the film is something you won’t see often in any decade, but at the same time I would love to see this movie in a Western setting. It’s already a very simple story about a guy trying to rescue his ex-flame from a gang of ruffians. It would be so easy to change her rock star status to something of a saloon singer. Now you have her get abducted by some outlaws and bring in Tom Cody, returning from fighting Natives on the frontier or even in the ACW, and you have your story. He can even keep his sweet lever-action rifle.
The Last Stand (2013)
I think this movie makes way more sense as a Western. Arnold as a Civil War vet who is trying to live a quiet life on the frontier. A bad man with his outlaw buddies on their way to his town on a train or on a baller-ass stagecoach. It makes more sense than that car that couldn’t be caught by a helicopter! You could still give Arnie that Gatling gun, too!
John Wick (2014)
Cool characters fit into any era. Especially a character as cool as John Wick. You could easily do the same old ‘retired assassin’ gimmick…just with more six shooters. He could also have a very unique crew of old pals including Native Medicine Men, traveling salesmen, and saloon owners. It’s the perfect fit for an aging badass, except that maybe this time someone killed his horse instead of his dog.
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t like this film. If you’re thinking I’m crazy for including this one due to the continuity then let me tell you, the continuity for this series is about as fucked as a guy on To Catch a Predator. I would probably set this film back in the American West and have the T-whatever going back to kill Sarah Conner’s great-great-granny who looks just like Linda Hamilton. Time travel makes all things possible and who doesn’t want to see a Sci-fi Western?
I guess I really want to see Arnold in a Western. Who knew?
