APPALOOSA

I WAS HOT TO SEE A NEW WESTERN – I COULD HARDLY SLEEP THE NIGHT BEFORE GOING TO SEE APPALOOSA. THE COMING ATTRACTION CLIPS WERE OUTSTANDING.

DESPITE MY PASSION TO SEE THE MOVIE, I WAS LATE AND MISSED THE EARLY SHOOT-OUT THAT MOTIVATES THE ARRIVAL OF ED HARRIS AND VIGGO MORTENSEN TO THE TOWN OF APPALOOSA, AS THE NEW ENFORCERS OF THE LAW.

THIS BEING A WESTERN, THE PLOT IS NOT GOING TO BE SO COMPLEX, THAT I COULDN’T FILL IN THE GAPS AND CATCH UP WITH THE STORYLINE AND THE KILLING WAS SHOWN IN ONE OF THE COMING ATTRACTION CLIPS I VIEWED.

THE FIRST HALF OF THE FILM IS EXCELLENT – YOU ARE GETTING THE LONESOME DOVE, TOMBSTONE, UNFORGIVEN VIBE – AND THAT IS A WONDERFUL VIBE. THE THIRD QUARTER IS SLOWING DOWN AND THE VIBE IS CLOSER TO KEVIN COSTNER’S 1994 VERSION OF WYATT EARP.

THE LAST QUARTER OF THE FILM HAS NO VIBE – ED HARRIS DIRECTED THIS FILM AND HE WAS SAILING ALONG UNTIL HE FAILED TO FRAME THE BIGGEST GUN BATTLE PROPERLY. HE TOOK WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF THIS FILM AND MADE IT WITHOUT ANY DRAMA –
SKILLED PROFESSIONAL GUNFIGHTERS ARE GOING AGAINST EACH OTHER AND THE AUDIENCE HAS NO SENSE OF INVOLVEMENT.

IN TOMBSTONE, WHEN KURT RUSSELL AND VAL KILMER GO TO THE GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL, YOU FEEL YOU ARE WITH THEM AND FIRING AND DUCKING LEAD, WITH YOUR OWN LIFE IN THE BALANCE – IN APPALOOSA, THIS SAME TYPE OF BATTLE COMES OFF AS NO BIG DEAL – NO EMOTION – NO DRAMA.

I THINK BEING IN THE SCENE FORCED HARRIS TO KEEP IT SMALL TO KEEP HIS CONTROL AS THE DIRECTOR – THE SCENE WAS FLAT AND THE FILM NEVER RECOVERED.

THE GOOD NEWS IS, THE GOOD PARTS EARLY ON ARE WORTH SEEING, BUT THIS FILM CAN’T HANG WITH THE BIG THREE “FAIRLY RECENT” WESTERNS MENTIONED ABOVE, DUE TO THE ALEX RODRIGUEZ LIKE FINISH ( REFERRING TO THE INFAMOUS BASEBALL PLAYER, NOTED FOR FAILING TO PERSEVERE IN THE CLIMACTIC MOMENTS OF ANY IMPORTANT GAME ).
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LANCE HENRIKSEN, A WONDERFUL 'B' MOVIE AND VIDEO ACTOR, DOES A FINE JOB AS THE OLDER PROFESSIONAL GUNMAN, WHO ALONG WITH HIS BROTHER, CHALLENGE ED AND VIGGIO TO A FIGHT. THEIR UNEMOTIONAL AND HONORABLE APPROACH TO THEIR JOB, BY THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS IS VERY IMPRESSIVE - IT IS ONE OF THE TOUCHES THAT MAKE THIS A GOOD PICTURE.
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THE FILM ENTERS NEW GROUND BY PRESENTING RENEE ZELLWEGER AS A WOMAN WITH A UNIQUE PSYCHO–SEXUAL APPROACH TO ROMANCE, THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN IN A WESTERN BEFORE AND THE WAY THE TWO LEADING MEN HANDLE HER PROCLIVITIES ALSO BREAKS NEW GROUND.

YET, WE DON’T GO TO WESTERNS TO SEE NEW ROMANTIC LIFESTYLES; WE GO TO SEE THE GOOD GUYS RIDE INTO TOWN, KILL THE BAD GUYS AND RIDE OUT OF TOWN. APPALOOSA DROPS THE BALL ON FULFILLING THAT MISSION IN ITS ENTIRETY.

I HAVE HEARD THERE IS A SEQUEL IN THE WORKS AND I WOULD ONCE AGAIN, RISE EARLY IN THE MORNING TO BE AT THE OPENING – ALL THE INGREDIENTS ARE THERE FOR A GREAT WESTERN – THE CHEMISTRY AND INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE TWO LEADING MEN IS GREAT, BUT THERE MUST BE A GOOD ACTION DIRECTOR AT THE HELM AND WRITERS WHO REMEMBER THAT
WE WANT THAT DRAMATIC GUNFIGHT TO BE A DRAMATIC GUNFIGHT.

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