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With Red Rock West and The Last Seduction, writer-director John Dahl established himself as America's leading maker of tough, twisted, funny little neo-noir pictures. Red Rock West is a spare, tight reworking of noirish motifs--the lone man caught in a web of circumstance and betrayal, the rich femme fatale, the corrupt policeman, the wounded military veteran, the homicidal psychopath--that brings to mind classics from Detour to Out of the Past to Bad Day at Black Rock. Cage--warming up for his career-peak (so far) performance in Leaving Las Vegas a few years later--plays an unemployed former Marine (his leg injured in the truck-bombing of the base in Beirut) who stumbles into a nightmarish situation when he stops at a bar in the isolated Wyoming town of Red Rock West. With one fateful step, he's trapped; and no matter how hard he tries, he just can't seem to leave town. The late J.T. Walsh is (as always) splendidly corrupt as the bar owner who harbors some deadly secrets, and Dennis Hopper does a variation on his patented Blue Velvet/River's Edge psycho that suits the treacherous environs of Red Rock West just fine. --Jim Emerson

Review
One of the best neo-noirs of the 1990s, Red Rock West -- though razor-sharp and cast to perfection -- cannot fully escape its familiarity in a genre that had by this point been done to death. But thanks to taut and absorbing direction, the film offers much entertainment value to viewers who are willing to let it take them on its strange but irresistible journey. Nicolas Cage is sympathetic and well cast in the lead role, and Dennis Hopper creates yet another of his indelible onscreen weirdos, imbuing the characterization with his standard intensity. The movie gets the booze-soaked, dusty-outback feel just right, and though it's hardly the most endearing picture ever made, it is a notable throwback to films of the 1970s that managed to be clever and calculated without the smarmy pretension of today's imitators. Like John Dahl's even better 1994 follow-up The Last Seduction, Red Rock West premiered on cable, building up a considerable following that led to its successful release in arthouses all over the country, where many audiences discovered it for the first time. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

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20 Reviews 5 star:  (7) 4 star:  (9) 3 star:  (2) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review (20 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: A Nice Dose of Murderous Double Crossing, Jul 6 2004 By  C. O. DeRiemer (San Antonio, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews    A basically decent drifter (Nicolas Cage) lands in the tiny town of Red Rock, Wyoming, looking for work. When he stops in the bar, the bar owner (J. T. Walsh) asks why he took so long and asks him to step in the back office so they can discuss the job. Cage plays along, then discovers the work is to kill the bar owner's wife. He takes the money, drives out to the ranch to warn the wife (Laura Flynn Boyle), and starts to leave town. Problems arise and he returns to town in time to witness the real hit man (Dennis Hopper) arrive. Things go downhill for the Cage character after that. This is an excellent, convoluted, well-acted and offbeat mystery. Funny, too. Cage never knows what's happening, but everybody else assumes he does. Dennis Hopper again plays a charming semi-psycho but he hadn't patented the style yet so it seems fresh. J. T. Walsh was a great character actor who died young. He's outstanding as the bar owner...who also happens to be the sheriff. He has one or two other secrets as well. And if Boyle doesn't rev your engine, you may need a tune up. She's more ruthless than the lot of them. The DVD transfer is clean and clear. Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   Twists, twists, and more twists., May 2 2004 By  Ronald B. Raff (Tome, NM United States) - See all my reviews    Nicolas Cage stars as Michael,an unemployed Texas roughneck desperate enough to drive all the way to Wyoming for a potential job. He is honest to a fault but always seems to be on the dark side of fate. After failing to obtain gainful employment he stumbles into the Red Rock Bar, where the owner Wayne (J.T.Walsh), mistakes him for a heretofor unseen contract killer he hired to do in his lovely, but lethal wife Suzanne (Lara Flynn Boyle). Wayne gives Michael the necessary details and a down payment for the hit on the adulterous Suzie. With no intent on killing, Michael takes the money and warns Suzanne about her impending demise. He also writes a letter to the local sheriff exposing the plot and splits town. As fate would dictate, Michael is involved in an accident in which he runs down Suzannes lover during a heavy rainstorm. He takes him to the hospital where it's discovered that he's also been shot. The sheriff is summoned and of course to Michaels misfortune, Wayne is also the local law. Michael escapes while being taken on that last ride and is subsequently picked up by the real killer,"Lyle From Dallas" (Dennis Hopper) who plays the role with murderous glee. After discovering that both he and Michael are former marines, Lyle insists on buying him a drink at, where else, The Red Rock Bar. It is there that Wayne realizes his mistake and soon he and Lyle are in hot pursuit of Michael who willingly falls into Suzannes waiting arms. The duo are now both on the run and as the plot develops we learn that Wayne and Suzanne are actually also on the lam with 1.9 million stolen dollars which now becomes the central focus of the film. The casting in this movie is excellent, with the actors blending well with their assigned roles, especially Dennis Hopper. Marc Reshovsky's photography was superb, utilizing many unique angles which added to the suspense and plot development. The fim's also enhanced by director John Dahl's tight style and Scott Chestnuts rapidfire editing. Was this review helpful to you?