HistoryProf

Well I finally got to watch this last night and have to say I was might underwhelmed. I'm really surprised to at all the raves actually, as I felt like it was a great Western ruined by excess. The Costner-Bening stuff was just way too over-the-top, and the last 15 minutes should have been excised entirely. Of course, Costner has to add romance to it all, but imho, it just ruined the pacing and took us right out of the heart of the movie every time they went there. The shootout is fantastic, as is the open range stuff, but the score is melodrama at its worst, and the romance just stifles everything. I thought there was a great western in there, but it was only about 1:45 long...NOT 2:15. It was, in a word, way too Costnerized - and this coming from a huge fan of DWW and proud owner of the 4 hour "euro-cut."

These two blurbs said it best for me from RT:

"Somewhere in there is a pretty good western. If only we could see more of it amid the ballast."
-- Rob Vaux, FLIPSIDE MOVIE EMPORIUM

"Kevin Costner's new Western is a showdown movie in the mold of High Noon, but because it's Costner, nothing really happens until, like, 3:15."
-- Gary Thompson, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS


And I should say that I LOVE westerns...but anyone claiming this is one of the best ever is just delusional, and I think just starved for good new westerns. Costner filled a void for us fans of the genre, but that doesn't automatically equal excellence. It's like that smashed up sandwich you eat at the top of a mountain after a five hour hike - you'd swear it was the best one you've ever had, but only becuase you are starving and exhausted. It was by no means a bad movie, but hardly a "cinematic triumph" as the back cover declares. I'm sorry i wasted best buy bucks on it - but at least I was able to sell it immediately.