TheMarwood
Walker is an odd duck of a film, damned to the pits of hell by critics and followed by unemployment for director Alex Cox, this was the end of his short Hollywood career. The bizarre true story of Walker, the self appointed president of Nicaragua, is perfect material for an absurd comedy, but it's Cox's execution that gets in the way. Fittingly, Ed Harris as Walker is the only one who seems completely committed to this material and does a great job, but the rest of the film is so self conscious that it works against him. Cox turns things up to about an 11 out of 10 and has most of the cast act like goofy buffoons, adds annoying anachronisms and force feeds the comedy to us. If Cox just took a step back and didn't direct like he's always winking at the audience and played the film straight like Harris's performance, the comedy would work from the absurdity of Walker's exploits - not this exaggerated cartoon that he filmed. The film is featherweight for most of its running time until the last act, where Walker's dark side comes out and the film gains some gravitas. An end credits newsreel footage is both eye rolling social commentary and undeserving blunt force message, completely at odds to every frame of previous footage.
chaos-rampant
Walker was both a box office and critical failure upon its initial release, and even though it's not hard to see why (viewers expecting a historic drama played straight, by Cox of all directors, will be sorely disappointed), it certainly deserves to be rediscovered by a whole new audience. OK maybe Cox tries to be "cult" a little too hard for his own good, but that aside he pulls it off surprisingly well. Ed Harris is OK in the leading role but I would have LOVED to see Gary Oldman portray the semi-insane William Walker. If any role called for scenery consumption, it's this one. Watch it for the great Peckinpah-esquire shooting in slow motion, the amusing anachronisms (choppers, computers, Newsweek magazines, Coca-Cola bottles, Marlboros), the general air of absurdity and psychotronic charm, the comedic touches, the political commentary and the great cinematography. Walker is good exactly because it refuses to take itself overly serious.
tbng
The stellar cast drew me to watch this film. What a waste of my valuable time and an insult to my intelligence. Laughably labeled "a true story" at the opening, it barely skims the truth of William Walker, the 19th century's best-known filibuster. Then, midway through the movie, it stuns its audience by introducing a string of anachronisms that scream, Hey, world! This ain't real! I'm really making a contemporary (for the mid-80s) political statement! Gotchya! The sound is mono and dialogue frequently unintelligible. It matters little. The movie is stilted and chaotic, caricaturizing rather than characterizing, and presents impossible situations as factual at least until it goes off the deep end and you realize it doesn't matter. This is a bad and dishonest film in spite of the excellent cast. If you like loony politics, Oliver Stone does it better and at least comes a bit closer to historical accuracy. If you truly liked Walker, get yourself into rehab.
keith80486
Alex Cox has created a visionary work. This film is a masterpiece. It's a one and a half hour joke with an incredible punchline that indelibly changed how I view the world. Ed Harris is a dead ringer for the "grey eyed man of destiny". I couldn't see anyone else in this role. He's a perfect fit. This is an incredibly original work of historical fiction that tells a truly timeless story (pardon the pun) in a way that one could never forget.By all means, find this movie!
AD
