Appaloosa

Appaloosa is another decent “intimate” western, this time about loyalty, friendship beyond the grave, and the place of women in the life of tough guys. The shootouts are few in number, but they are exciting. The characters are introverted and tough, as men were at the time in which Ed Harris’ film takes place, and you’ll get to know them only in the second half. That, however, makes the ending even better. The whole film might come across as cold and visually austere, but this time that is not a handicap. (10/05/2010)

A Western without a shootout is like a cowboy without a horse, and there are very few here, but that doesn’t matter much. The problem is that the narrative is too slow, hardly leaving banal dialogues, and it lacks tension that would move the story forward and make it more engaging. Ed Harris as a screenwriter and director didn’t disappoint, but he didn’t impress either. (11/04/2009)

First, I was glad that the western genre still had its place in modern Hollywood, but it won't last long with this category of randomly selected scripts. Appaloosa only brings a series of episodes from a interchangeable town with a sheriff's office and a saloon, but it doesn't lead anywhere. The whole relationship-focused story reaches a dead end and the showdown comes literally out of nowhere at the last minute. It's no wonder that the attraction is mainly the actors. Ed Harris is once again a tough guy on demand, and Viggo Mortensen handles the cowboy next door stereotype with humor. However, Renee Zelwegger and Irons show that they only ended up in the Wild West by mistake, and their forced, respectively casual acting has no place here. For this horribly wasted opportunity, I would only give it a disappointing 50%. (20/07/2009)

The chemistry between Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris works great, and tough guy Harris is undoubtedly the strongest card of this otherwise average western. The female element is completely redundant, and some scenes are very artificially constructed. It may please only those who enjoy raw and very fast shootouts without any hint of pathos. Otherwise, it is a relatively pointless affair. (23/03/2009)