Movie Review Rewind: Appaloosa (2008)

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The Western genre is tough to make these days. I dare say it is a dying breed. Westerns have had some success in the past couple of decades, but only a few movies really stick out. Mainly three: Tombstone, Open Range, and Unforgiven. Unforgiven really had the most success, especially when it came to the Academy Awards.

So, every few years, someone tries to do a western and hopes it can capture an audience. Well, this year it is Ed Harris with Appaloosa. He produced, directed and starred in this one. He brought a great cast with him: Renee Zellweger, Jeremy Irons, and Viggo Mortensen. I must say…the movie is really built around the friendship/partnership of Harris and Mortensen.

The story is a simple one. Two men are hired to rid the the town of Appaloosa of the bad guys. This reminds me of how Westerns should be – a simple story with well-rounded characters. It feels like an original western. Irons plays the bad guy very well – must be that English accent. Zellweger becomes a major distraction for Harris’ character. But, the true chemistry on-screen comes from Mortensen and Harris.

Harris plays a guy who is all business. He never takes his eye of what has to be done to clean up the town, and he does it his way. Mortensen is his balance. He is laid back and emotional, which is a weakness for someone in their business. These two guys starred in A History of Violence together, but they did not come across as well as they do here.

The storytelling ain’t complicated, but why should it be? When you have a dynamic duo like Harris and Mortensen with the acting chops to back it up, you know you’re in good hands. And, let’s not forget this movie contains one thing that westerns will always have and can never walk away from: Some good ole-fashioned shoot outs!

“Nature Boy” Brandon Vick is the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and star of Brandon’s Box Office In Your Mouth. Follow him on Twitter@SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.

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