For a Few Dollars More - 1965
I'll just say upfront that I consider this to be the weakest of the three installments. Not by miles, but by more than inches. Fistful is just an airtight machine of a flick, and the epic that follows this is among the greatest films ever made. Often times bands have their sophomore slumps. Did Leone fall prey to the same pitfalls?
Well, yes and no. For a Few Dollars More is considerably longer than its predecessor, and it's not clear that it really needs to be. "Meandering" is a word I would use to describe this film in a way the final feature is not. There are mini-scenes or sequences that for the first time in the Dollars Trilogy I wondered: Where is this going? Or, is this entirely necessary for the story? My answers left me a little incredulous.
On the other hand, For a Few Dollars More may just offer us the most romantic character in the whole saga. Lee Van Cleef's Captain Mortimer is on a kind of righteous quest. His saga and character development are fantastic. He's also got a total bad ass gun, which when paired with Manco's speedy six-shooter, is pretty unstoppable.
Furthermore, I think this film is the equivalent of Leone popping up a bottle of wine (perhaps from the Italian countryside) and letting it breathe a little bit. For the first time, I was able to see on this run through the wisdom in letting us travel down these little rabbit holes. Not only does the baddie's ruthlessness (played once again by a fantastic Gian Maria Volonte) come into focus, but also his cunning. His ability to craft a plan in the face of obstacles.
And, of course, Morricone's score remains stalwart, even if he does go a little "off palette" this time around. (Read: adding drums and percussion and an odd kind of lullaby to the usual mix). The finale, like all the Dollars Trilogy, puts a terrific bow on the proceedings. Dollars More continues to grow on me, even if it had the most room for improvement in the first place.
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