Everybody has to start somewhere. It says a lot that this Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood/Ennio Morricone trilogy ended with "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," one of my all-time favorite films, and a wide and deep piece of cinema in which I find something new every time. There's none of that here -- well, except for Morricone's terrific score. He hit it out of the park on his first swing.

This is all style -- and wow, what style. But the story is borderline ridiculous, and it never goes anywhere interesting. Still, anyone who cares about movies must familiarize themselves with this trilogy. Don't take your cues from fetishistic blowhards like Tarantino. Yes, this film is hugely influential, but that accounts for two and a half of my three stars here. Watch this movie to see how everyone involved got so much better at this over the course of a decade. Beyond that, there's nothing much to see here.

Letterboxd Review No. 244