Must See Movie...

A different way of telling a story

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

As a Western addict, I didn't expect too much from this as the IMDb rating was only 6.8. However, I was bowled over by it! The straight opening scene drew the viewer in and established two things immediately. The badness of the Jeremy Irons character and the rough, dirty environment in which the plot would be played out. There would be nothing slick or sentimental about this film. Then we got the narrative from the second of the three main characters, played by Viggo Mortensen. The reason the two further characters in this film are riding together across open, dry, brown landscape, is explained and you know you're in for a damned good, hard nosed ride into classic western good vs.bad showdown territory! I love this film, because it delivers exactly what it says on the tin. Ed Harris is the life weary Marshall who will not compromise with the town's bye-laws, and the film is only slightly let down when his eye leaves the ball to follow a female diversion in the form of Renee Zellweger. Her presence is necessary to the plot and the final shootout, however in my opinion, she gets too much screen time. Talking of shootouts, this film contains many of them, all quite different, heavy with fine detail, and all relevant. By the end you're left feeling you've spent some serious time with saddle leather, colt handguns, dust and bourbon whisky, and the three main characters themselves. Oh - and heard some fine songs as well!

Great set, relatively accurate, Ed and Viggo really fit extremely well together. Jeremy Irons is absolutely outstanding in this film. The casting was great except for Renèe Zellweger. My opinion is that she did not fit the role at all. She did not fit the character profile. I heard that Diane Lane was the 1st choice, but she did not do it. RZ seemed to be distracting to a great story line as well as giving a weak performance. I actually saw the movie before I read the book. RZ's character was much more fitting for the part as portrayed in the book. I would love to see Ed and Viggo team up again for another movie adaptation of a Robert B. Parker western. Great characters.

This is not a movie about good guys versus bad guys. The main theme of the movie is loyalty, and the main characters are Virgil (Ed Harris)and Everett (Viggo Mortenson). The villain Randall (Jeremy Irons) and The love interest Allison (Renée Zellweger) are secondary characters. If you think westerns are all about nonstop action and the hero defeating the villains, you will be disappointed like the others who reviewed this film poorly. If you enjoy a good story and exploration of character, then I think that you might enjoy this film. There are few good modern westerns because of the belief that action is the only important element to its success. (The remake of 3:10 to Yuma is a perfect example. It has plenty of action but is a poor movie with a completely unbelievable ending when compared to the original which is an excellent psychological drama.) Congratulations to the makers of Appaloosa for not sacrificing a good story at the altar of meaningless action. In the end, this made the action scenes all the more believable.

In 2008's "Appaloosa" two itinerate lawmen -- Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) -- are hired to protect the New Mexican town of Appaloosa from Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons), a newly-arrived rancher with money and a gang of thugs who arrogantly murdered three local lawmen. Virgil and Everett are seasoned professionals and have no fear. Meanwhile, a cute and seemingly refined widow comes to town, Allison French (Renée Zellweger), and Virgil falls hard for her, but is she worthy of his (or any man's) devotion? Harris and Mortensen were born to play Westerners and Zellweger is exquisite as the insecure babe who always needs to be desired. Moreover, Irons makes for a first-rate Western villain."Appaloosa" is a really good modern Western featuring the typical Western staples, but with great actors, mature themes and a totally realistic tone. When the action comes it's swift and brutal, but there's a lot of slow (albeit interesting) drama, so stay away if you have ADHD and require an explosion every five minutes to maintain your limited attention span.The film runs 115 minutes and was shot in New Mexico.GRADE: A-