This is not really an average effort, I’m already feeling guilty for saying it is, and we’re still only on the first sentence. You see, to be an average movie you have to have some very definable flaws, things I can harp on and gripe about. Other than a long title and a bit of slow going in the plot this film doesn’t have the failings on an average movie. So why is it getting the average grade? Read on to find out my secret shame.
Luckily I’m not going to make you wait long in case you have better stuff to do, such as getting a job. My issue is that this is a modern day westerns and I hate westerns no matter what era they are set in. There is something extremely bothersome to me about being able to look wistfully out into the wind and call it plot development. There’s something annoying about giant shots of wide open land conveying the loneliness we all feel. For me it feels really trite and tired. Westerns were good about 50 years ago, no argument there, but now the real west is where Tupac is from and it bears little resemblance to the place this film talks about. So this film is getting dinked because it’s a western. I’m sorry guys, the world isn’t fair. If you are a chap who actually likes westerns you’ll freakin’ poop your pants with glee on this one because it works within the genre quite well.
The story of this film (I’m never going to write the full title by the way) is of friendship at the core. Tommy Lee Jones plays Pete Perkins, employer of Melquiades Estrada. Barry Pepper plays a border agent with a ton of bluster but very little in the way of smarts. Pepper takes out Estrada and Perkins enacts a certain form of revenge. I won’t spoil it but it’s a pretty interesting torture saga kind of deal.
I will say I loved Barry Pepper in this film; he was great in 61* and great here too. This lad can really act and I’d like to start seeing him get some real roles. Do you hear me CSA’s of America? Unite behind me! Also impressive is the directing of Tommy Lee Jones in his first big film. I’d like to see him tackle something a little more ambitious if he chooses to keep directing, something quick paced and dynamic.
So at the end of the day you’ve got a well acted, well directed film that’s boring as all hell to me. You should see it if you are the patient type but not if you have A.D.D. If like me you hate westerns then of course stay far far away. This film deserves a B in real life but we don’t inhabit that Earth. We, the people, live in a world that RopeOfSilicon.com rules and we must do our darndest to live by the arbitrary rulings of the head reviewer around here. Don’t give me no back talk boy or I’m liable to get the shotgun out of my truck. After a long day of herding I’m not in no mood.
