The great Walter Hill's detectable style is already fleshed out to a large degree with his debut, an impressive period drama/actioner, that's gifted with a peerless one-two punch of a top-billed cast in Bronson and Coburn.
This depression-era tale of bare-knuckle brawlers, and the con men who profit from them, is pitch-perfect tonally from start to end. Bronson is smartly cast, in one of his finest roles, as the largely stoic drifter simply looking to make some money outside of minimal paying part-time work. Coburn, of course, oozes fast-talking charm as Bronson's possible manager. It's the third time these two shared the screen, and they play off each other beautifully. It's hard imagining these roles played better by anyone else,…