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Dancing_P [ 7.0 ]
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A traditional Hollywood western the likes of which we haven’t seen since John Wayne graced the screens. This is not a revisionist western, this is not an anti-western, a comedy western, a spaghetti western or any of that; it’s an honest to goodness cowboy movie, complete with characters named Boss and Mac and a main street with the General Store and everything. Charley and Boss (Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall) are two cowboys who have to take matters in their own hands when one of their men is killed and another severely injured by a rancher named Baxter (Michael Gambon), who hates cowboys who have their cattle graze on the open range. Throw in a severely underdeveloped love story between Charley and the doctor’s sister (Annette Bening), some choice character actors and a perfectly executed shoot-out and you’ve got yourself a great little western, one that’s certainly not perfect but that looks fondly back on the days of John Ford and The Duke and makes for solid entertainment.
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traino [ 8.0 ]
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I like Kevin Costner's style as you can see from my other reviews...this was a great Western - most Westerns are predictable - but Westerns have been around for a long time - what do you expect - I love the gun fight where you can hear the cho of gun shots - seemed realistic to me...
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Verbal [ 5.5 ]
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I'm just glad to see Costner didn't completely screw this one up like I had feared. The first half is far better than the second half. As the movie progresses, a more conventional Western takes over and all your left with is reminiscing over Duvall's performance.
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DokBrowne [ 8.5 ]
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(1-7 scale)
CAST/ACTING: 6 (great to see Kevin Costner doing well for himself again; everyone does an outstanding job, especially Robert Duvall, Michael Gambon, and Annette Bening, who still glows unlike any other actress)
DIRECTING/ETC.: 5
SCRIPT: 5 (some of the language in the movie seems almost Shakespearean, as filtered through western sensibility, of course)
ORIGINALITY/CREATIVITY: 3
TECHNICAL/VISUAL STYLE: 6 (some of the most gorgeous nature shots ever put on film)
EFFECTIVENESS OF GENRE (western/drama/action/romance): 6 (if it managed to keep me fully engrossed for 2 1/2 hours, then it's a damn good Western, since I normally avoid the genre; the drama is effective (caught myself choking up a couple times even though I don't remember there being any particularly sad moments), the action dynamic, brutal, and tense without ever resorting to theatrics, and the romance believable and sweet)
ENDING: 4 (coulda done without the final slow motion, but I guess we can afford Costner a slice of his favorite technique in return for the very good movie he made for us)
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 5
OVERALL: 39 / 56 points
AVERAGE: 4.875 / 7
GRADE: B+
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jeff_v [ 7.0 ]
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Just a good old-fashioned Western. A stable of quality actors who don't look uncomfortable in the garb (though Bening's teeth sure are purty for a frontierswoman), an unhurried pace that allows characters to build naturally, and the loudest damn gunfight I've heard since Heat. Conventional as hell, but satisfying.
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| Weighted Rating | : 7.0 |
| No. Ratings | : 6 | |
| No. Reviews | : 5 | |
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