Open Range

Boss, Charley, Mose and Button are free rangers crossing America with their herd. When Mose gets beaten up and imprisoned by a Marshall in the employee of cruel rancher Baxter, Boss and Charley ride into town and help him back to the camp. However Baxter sends him men to scatter their herd - during which they kill Mose. With Button seriously injured, Boss and Charley ride into town to get justice.

It is perhaps a good thing that the unjustified criticism and media-driven-hatred of Kevin Costner is starting to subside, but we must be careful not to be too forgiving of him and too quick to heap praise on him. Open Range was greeted with rave reviews and hyped claims that it doesn't totally live up to - but it still manages to be an enjoyable and well made film. The film opens very weakly with an overly-wholesome feel and `aw-shucks' dialogue that continues for the first ten minutes. However after this the film gets better and settles down into more of an acceptable tone. The film is never really very dark, but it has a nice tension to it that runs even when the film is amusing.

If it has one major flaw it is that it is too slow to really be enjoyed by all. Even as someone used to the slow pace of many westerns, I found this to really try my patience at times. It is not so much the pace of the film as the feeling of it dragging. The actual pace works quite well for this film but it should have been edited a bit tighter to offset the drag - there are plenty of moments where it could have been trimmed to it's benefit, and the film could easily have lost 15 minutes. The slow pace helps in one regard - the final gunfight. When the standoff finally comes it is violent, long and very impacting. Some reviewers have complained about the lack of realism in the fight, but I actually think that the misses (although excessive) are more believable than scores of direct hits. The gunfight is all the more surprising for Charley's sudden return to character. His dark past is hinted at, but when it comes it comes with a thunder - the sound effects are tremendous, the first shot made me jump and the rest were just as loud.

Some issues are smudged: it is too hard to believe that Sue would be unmarried, Charley's descent is not that well done and both Mose and Buttons are poor characters - but it is easy to ignore these. The characters are not great but they are good enough for this. Duvall is the best thing in the film, his easy charm compliments the slow pace and he makes for nice slow-poke humour. Costner is as good, he is unassuming - not a great character but good enough for a western. Bening is good despite being given the romantic subplot to handle. Support is good from Gambon, the late Jeter and others in solid, if stereotypical roles. On a personal note it was good to see Kim Coates in a big screen movie.

Overall, this got big praise, but it will likely not covert anyone to be a western fan. As a genre film it is very enjoyable but it is hard to ignore the clichéd slow-motion, the overly slow pace and the indiscipline of the editing. However the film is enjoyable, funny, patient and, when it comes, brutally impacting.

Why studios don't make more westerns is beyond me. Some of them are downright unwatchable like "Young Guns" and its sequel but there have been some extremely well made films like "Unforgiven" and "Tombstone" so I'm at a loss as to why more are not made. Thank you Kevin Costner! This story is about four men who are herding their cattle through a certain area and they stop near a town to get supplies. The crew is headed by Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) and his second in charge is Charley Waite (Costner). They send Mose (Abraham Benrubi) to get supplies and after a day or so he doesn't return. Boss and Charley go to find him leaving Button (Diego Luna) to watch the herd. In town they find Mose beaten badly and locked up in the local jail. A rich rancher named Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon) hates "Freegrazers" and tells them to take their man and keep moving. Baxter controls the sheriff (James Russo) and also has many thugs on his payroll. Back at the herd some of Baxters men have been following them so Boss has an idea of going after them instead of running. That night they confront them and smash their rifles but when they get back Mose has been killed and Button is wounded badly. They take him to the local doctor and meet his sister Sue (Annette Bening) and Charley takes a shine. Boss and Charley don't like to be told where to graze their cattle and they want revenge for the death of Mose. A final gunfight in town is inevitable and Charley reveals that he killed many men in the war. This film was directed by Costner and its very well made. He seems to have found his mark as a directer with this genre. Costner allows the story to unfold on its own terms and the pacing is deliberate which is welcomed after watching so many Hollywood films and their quick edits. The film should be seen on the big screen to be appreciated. The scenery is beautiful and their are so many shots with skylines and mountains and wide open prairies and these shots help tell the story in the film. The scenery is important and gives the film a look that helps you relate to the characters when they speak of not wanting to be told where they can go. The characters are well written and they let out things about themselves little by little as the story is told. Duvall's character is a man of high pride and also a stubborn side and he's not afraid to stand up for himself even if it means he might die. Costner plays a man with a hard past and he seems to be living his life and coming to grips with his experiences in the war at the same time. Charley states that he doesn't have a problem with killing and we believe him. The romance between Costner and Bening seems forced and Bening looks a little to old to be a woman that never married. The film goes on about 15 minutes to long and Costner has not one, but two goodbye scenes with Bening. This is a minor complaint because this is a very entertaining film and after a summer of watching hyper-kinetic Hollywood junk, It's a movie that is very welcomed. Hear that Hollywood?

Costner admitted early in his career he was not an "artist", but rather a commodity, or star. I don't disagree. He was a handsome face but he always had an authenticity in his performances too. Very natural on camera. In Open Range, he's at his best. He's the type of guy who is just comfortable in front of the camera and you look at him and feel he's being honest. An honest performance that makes you feel he's not acting in any way. He reminds me of Gary Cooper in that way. A guy who isn't bullsh**ting and you believe every word he says. I love him in this movie. I love the way he speaks to the woman he can't express his love to. I love her in this too.

When this film reaches the climactic shootout, it is a real cinematic treat. Costner has a great feel for creating and choreographing complex action scenes. There is one wide shot in particular that contains many actors involved in a number of separate interactions carried out in a masterfully-planned sequence. It is worth watching several times and paying close attention to each individual shootout going on within the larger scene. Costner has mastered the art of filling the screen with complex action.

The cast is outstanding and the love story is compelling and not typical Hollywood. As a real Western fan, I enjoyed this one enough to watch it several times. I think the plot offers something for everyone and I think it is one of those rare films that appeals to both men and women. It is certainly worth checking out.

They don't westerns that much anymore, at least on the big screen. People in the Baby Boomer generation grew up with them on television. Western films were big at the box office in several decades, too.

Well, at least Kevin Costner must have a heart for the genre as he been involved with several major western productions in the last 15 years, this the latest.

The best thing I can say about this film right out front is that it may be the best western I've ever watched. I can't give it higher praise than that! Since I've seen so many, for so long, it's especially high praise.

I make this bold statement because of the following:

1 - Fantastic scenery and beautiful cinematography. If it looks spectacular on my 24-inch flat-screen, I can't imagine how awesome it would be a big plasma set.

2 - Characters you really care about, led by three actors who almost always give solid performances: Robert Duvall (the best in here), Costner and Annette Bening. Duvall, by the way, gives one of the best short "speeches" I've ever witnessed in a movie. It was nice to see Bening actually play a wholesome woman for a change. The two men who are out on the range with Duvall and Costner also were excellent.

3 - Just the right amount of action. When the action does occur, such as gunfire, the sound is incredible. This might be one of the best movies, audibly-speaking, I've ever heard, which is another reason for ranking it Number One. There are no lulls but not a ton of action, either.

4 - Just the right amount of romance. It doesn't get sappy, it doesn't overshadow the basic story, but it adds a nice, soft touch to what could be a very rough and unpleasant tale. And, in a different twist, it's the romance, not the usual climactic gun battle, that ends this film.

I can't say enough about this movie except that I'm sorry more westerns like it aren't made today.