Appaloosa

Starring: Ed Harris, Jeremy Irons, Viggo Mortensen, Renee Zellweger, Lance Henrikson
Directed by: Ed Harris
Rating: R
Genre: Western
2008

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two lawmen (Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen) take a job to enforce law and order in Appaloosa. They face off against a merciless rancher (Jeremy Irons) willing to resort to any means to protect his own interests.

Review:

Tim: I really appreciate Ed Harris writing, directing, and starring in this movie. Westerns are made far less often than they should be. I think the genre is fascinating, and I always enjoy when a new Western comes out, especially since it has been a long time since the golden age of Westerns. This movie is a solid film, but I wasn't completely wowed by it.

Ed Harris the director really gives us an interesting movie. It is very similar to most Westerns, as two lawmen try to defend a town against an outside menace. This isn't new, and it doesn't take a particularly novel approach to it, either. The film works though, because Harris gives us a carefully crafted, detailed movie. You can tell in every shot that Harris put effort into it, and nothing in the film feels pointless or sloppy.

The cast is quite good. Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen work well together, and I really liked them in their roles. I thought they had a good deal of chemistry, and were believable as long-time friends who have been through a great deal together. I also liked Jeremy Irons as the villainous rancher. Irons seems to make every movie he is in better, and I wish he made more movies. Renee Zellweger was probably the weak link of the cast, as I never really believed her in the role. She seemed to be channeling her Cold Mountain role a bit, but I just wasn't impressed with her.

I like Westerns for a number of reasons, but one is undoubtedly action. I wish this film had a few more action scenes. Some of the gunfights are over far too soon. I know that the focus of the film was on drama, not action, but a few more exciting minutes would have helped this movie. I also was surprised that this movie wasn't more impactful. The film isn't particularly memorable, and it blends in too much with other Westerns. It really needed to set itself apart, and I don't believe it achieved this.

Appaloosa is a movie that I enjoyed, because it is rare to see beautifully made Westerns today. However, this movie could have been better. It tells a good story, but not a particularly memorable or exciting one. My final thoughts on this movie are that it does enough well to be good, but left me wanting more.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Unforgiven, Hidalgo, 3:10 to Yuma