I'm glad that I have the chance to be the first reviewer of this movie, for in general it was considered as a failure both for S Stone and S Raimi to resurrect style and hype of spaghetti-westerns.Despite its several flaws (like numerous annoying shots of the main characters' eyes staring intently at each other to enhance suspense, Ms Stone's at times blank face when it should reflect stronger emotions, some characters so bad and revolting that they make you chuckle), I've seen it for the second time and it made me grab my chair in childish excitement.
The plot is stark simple (see above, but in short a dozen rascals participating in a lethal shooting contest till last man standing), as well as the reasons driving the main characters to participate in the murderous contest: Ms Stone - to avenge her father, the Kid (L d Caprio) - to win his father's respect, Herod (J Hackman) - to keep townsfolk submissive and to teach his best and repented "pupil" Cort (R Crow) a lesson of abeyance, others - for money (but they don't matter).
True, leading actors carry out the plot on their steady shoulders: * R. Crow emanates sexual charisma and suppressed prowess (long before world wide fame as macho Maximus the Gladiator) even if he spends all the movie shackled and beaten. ...*L de Caprio is well into the shape of boyish and outside haughty/inside weak-trying-to-prove-he's-better-than-his-father, long before downpour of post-Titanic fame. *J Hackman isthe perfect scoundrel,ageing scavenger, full stop. As to * Sh Stone, she remains one of the sassiest and talented actresses for me(praise her, fore she spends 2/3 of the movie rather disheveled), despite several movie flops she's participated in. She's carried her role well, with mixed feelings of despair, indifference and revulsion (at least I can't imagine any other actress in this role).
The end is unexpected and is not a usual annoying happy-end. What more do you need? Watch and enjoy and don't compare this movie with any earlier masterpieces. ...it may count S Raimi's best movie so far.