The Last of the Mohicans

I watched The Last of the Mohicans again yesterday. I can't count the number of times that I've watched it though. They show it on the cable channels a lot. I don't know what keeps me coming back. The movie is all right for what it is, but it isn't the sort of film that really merits repeated viewing. The music is part of it. The movie's score may be my favorite. I can't think of one that I like better.

The acting is a mixed bag. Daniel Day-Lewis is an overrated actor, but he does a good enough job as Hawkeye. The Last of the Mohicans is the only movie in which have seen Madeleine Stowe do a credible job of acting. Her work is usually forgettable. The one really excellent job is that turned in by Wes Studi as the Indian Magua. He's one of the great movie villains.

I guess we all have certain movies that we watch over and over again, movies that don't have much intrinsic, artistic merit. With a few exceptions, mine run to war movies like Midway, Blackhawk Down, and Saving Private Ryan. I don't know why, since I tend toward pacifism. Maybe it's a guy thing. On the other hand, my father was a career Air Force officer, and he would occasionally take me to the movies when I was a little kid. They were always war movies. They were the only ones he liked. It reminds me of the boast that is attributed to the Jesuits. Give me a child for the first five years of his life, and I have him forever.