Walker

Synopsis:
Cult director Alex Cox turns his hand to historical drama--with a twist--in this tale of William Walker (Ed Harris), an idealistic doctor, lawyer, and journalist who, at age 32, leads a bloody and violent invasion of Nicaragua at the request of robber baron Cornelius Vanderbilt. In short order, Walker declares himself president of the country, believing that America has a moral right to "protect our neighbors from oppression." By the end of the film, Cox allows present-day reality to creep in, making the point that this type of savage imperialism goes on all over the world, all the time. WALKER's critical reception was cool, largely because of the deliberate anachronisms (characters are seen reading People magazine and escaping in helicopters) used to equate the story with current political situations, but the film holds up very well. Ed Harris's performance is riveting, the violence is unflinching and to-the-point, and any film featuring Peter Boyle as Cornelius Vanderbilt is worth watching for that reason alone.

Reviews:
"...Consistently intelligent....WALKER is something very rare in American movies these days. It has some nerve..." - 12/04/1987 New York Times, p.C36

"...[The] lensing by David Bridges gives the picture a rich look....[The score] deftly mixes traditional and modern sounds and develops one haunting theme..." - 12/02/1987 Variety

"With a delicate Joe Strummer score, appropriately gory violence...[and] a penchant for Peckinpah-esque staging....Still as relevant today..." - 01/01/2008 Film Comment, p.77

"[An] agitprop satire of Ronald Reagan's misadventures in Central America..." -- Grade: B+ - 02/22/2008 Entertainment Weekly, p.81

"Walker is a fascinating character in his own right, and Ed Harris gives one of his best performances as the repressed, crazy, but compelling general." - 05/01/2008 Sight and Sound, p.98