John Wayne made a lot of movies during his life and the bulk of them were westerns.  Sure, he played cops, hunters, soldiers and more, but it seemed like western pictures were his calling.  It was fitting, whether he knew it or not, that his last film would be a western as well.

In a move that seems like complete fiction, Wayne took the role of a gunfighter who is dying of cancer while he himself was doing the exact same thing.  Truly strange and yet poignant at the same time, for as he goes through the film, it is almost as if he is saying goodbye to the audiences that loved him throughout his career.  His performance was nothing short of phenomenal as he was able to relate so personally to the role.  This role, unlike any other he had done previously, made him seem for just once, not the larger than life character he always seemed to play.

The film also featured great performances from an older Ron Howard, Jimmy Stewart and Lauren Bacall.  A great supporting cast if ever there was one.  Ron Howard especially was great to see outside of The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days.  His capability of playing the wide-eyed and innocent young teen next to Wayne’s experienced and aging cowboy was a smart piece of casting.

John Wayne had starred in the bulk of the hundred plus films he had made and almost all of them were good films.  The Searchers, True Grit, The Longest Day and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance stand out as some of his best films and would be argued as his finest.  A case can be made for The Shootist as his greatest film.  A truly wonderful and riveting performance from the Duke in what would be his final film aided and abetted by some of the best co-stars in any movie.

5 out of 5