When I’m not keeping up with all the new and upcoming 2025 movies, I like to go back and relax by checking out classic movies that I either haven’t seen in a very long time or for the first time entirely. Recently, my wife and I sat down to rewatch Silverado, one of Kevin Costner’s best Westerns (and his earliest), and we were both blown away by the Academy Award winner’s portrayal of a young gunslinger in this often overlooked ‘80s movie.
In the days since watching this movie that had me rooting for the outlaws, I’ve been thinking about Silverardo a lot, especially when it comes to Costner’s take on Jake, the young and dynamic kid brother of Scott Glenn’s Emmett. And you know, there’s something about his performance I really wish he’d bring back.
Kevin Costner’s Jake In Silverado Is So Young And Immature, And I’m Here For It
I’ve been watching Kevin Costner movies for about as long as I can remember, and I’m all about most of his work (this is especially true when it comes to his great baseball movies). Over the years, I’ve gotten used to him playing these older, more mature, or at least grounded characters like Field of Dreams’ Ray Kinsella or Let Him Go’s George Blackledge, which makes revisiting Silverado such a wild experience.
I mean, the first time we see Jake, Costner’s young gunslinger, he starts climbing up and down the walls and ceiling of a jail cell as he explains how he ended up in the predicament. Just shy of being 30, the actor who’d go on to lead all-time great Westerns like Dances with Wolves and Open Range looks and acts like a kid not fully aware he’s about be hanged for murder.
Costner Finds That Perfect Balance Of Goofiness And Badassness
Jake isn’t just an immature and fun-loving gunslinger. In fact, Costner’s character is just as much of a badass as we’d see later on in his stellar career. Sure, he’s goofy sometimes and cracks jokes at inappropriate times, but he’s more than capable of handling his own in a fight, either with his fists or his guns.
From shooting all kinds of black hats to toying with foes with his revolvers to helping out his brother and friends (played by Kevin Kline and Danny Glover) to saving the good folks of Silverado, Jake does it all, and he does it with a grin on his face the majority of the time.
I Really Wish We’d Get More Performances Like This
Don’t get me wrong, I love what Costner achieved in his more dramatic roles, and he’s long been one of my favorite actors; it’s just that I really wish we had gotten more performances like this over the years. Yeah, he’s played more comedic parts in movies like Bull Durham, Tin Cup, and Swing Vote (the only thing that comes close to the comedy in Silverado), but nothing like good old Jake.
I’m not saying he needs to change everything, I would just like to see a not-so-serious Kevin Costner part every now and then.
If you haven’t seen Silverado in a long time or at all, I cannot recommend this movie enough, as it’s without a doubt one of the best Westerns of all time.