Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Claire Dunne One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

jameshellis-31347 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!

k-thomas I found this movie a reasonable enjoyable western, with the usual cliques. A well made film. Fine sets and i was very impressed with the authenticity of the costumes and weapons. My only criticism was the roles played by Mortensen and Irons.Both very fine actors, but this was a buffer for both of them. Viggo Mortensen did not to me come across as a tough guy lawman. I thought Lance Henrickson would have been more suited. When i saw on the credits that Jeremy Irons was to play the bad guy, i thought again another English Actor playing the villain. A bit like Michael Gambon in Open Range, which was a better movie and played by veteran Western Actors, Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner.The problem with Irons was he was playing an American character, but sometimes you could hear his English accent coming through. Ed Harris was flawless. I was impressed by the fact this was his first Western. Not a bad movie, but i was disappointed with Viggo Mortensen and Jeremy Irons, especially as i am a fan of their works. For something to watch for a Saturday evening it is fine, but don't expect a classic.

Berkshire_Lou It was very moral film. Savvy lawmen who were honest & told the truth, who never killed except to uphold the law. They defined integrity. I liked the quirkiness of the characters, e.g. the town leaders (Spall) funny bickering; "sequestered" and the other words that Mortenson defines for Harris. These vocabulary exchanges symbolized their relationship built on friendship, loyalty, & mutual trust. Sometimes it tried a bit too hard & it felt forced, perhaps because of the lack of flow in Irons' forced accent (why not let him be English?—he ends up importing that English steer anyway) & Zellweger's weirdness. Zellweger played her flawed character like Harris told her, but she needed to show a darker side—not just the insecure lunatic who was scared of everything. She was the antithesis of the men's morality, so why didn't she get punished? We didn't get stereotypical natives, but characters who accepted the horse because they had integrity. Hell, everyone had more integrity than her. The end showed Mortenson accepting her two- faced immorality only because Harris had affirmed that he wouldn't leave her. With this declaration, Mortenson had no other choice in the end but to move on (to take care of himself) & kill Irons (to aid Harris). I get it, but I didn't like it as an invested movie viewer who thought she was trash and didn't deserve him.

jackasstrange Appaloosa is certainly not a unwatchable film, but isn't a enjoyable one either. Is nearly pointless to watch this movie, to be honest. It don't brings nothing new or at least good or entertaining to the table at all. So lets start to talk about it:, three reasons of 'Why' Appaloosa don't works: 1. the characters actions are way too slow paced. There is almost no conflicts between the characters, and when you think that something "exciting" is finally going to happen, it just...don't happen. 2.The 'villain', the only element of conflict in the entire story, has absolutely no power and he almost don't shows up until the first hour of the movie. Way too much time. 3. One of the most annoying things in this film are certainly the pointless dialogues between the main characters. I love movies which are driven by good dialogues, but certainly Appaloosa is not one of them. Literally a dread western.