Surrounded

Beautiful scenery, fantastic acting by the leads, exciting action and characters you've never seen before. That stagecoach scene was just a ow. Not sure where between the action and frequent changes of dynamics anyone had the opportunity to feel this was slow or dragged. I did find some of the dialogue and conflict a bit confusing when multiple parties were talking at the same time and will rewatch with subtitles for some missing lines. Overall a good adventure that has you on the edge of your seat (literally) rooting for Letitia to make it. Even my husband liked it and we rarely agree on movies these days.

This was a great western that isn't typical in the sense of the characters. The storyline although typical is good. It does push you to explore the struggle of humanity within to make choices based on their limited knowledge. A must watch, if you are looking something that isn't littered with foul language and nudity. The cinematography was beautiful, and the landscape scenery was very nice. This film also gave a realistic view of what Life after the War for the Buffalo soldier might have been like in a worlds that was still very primitive and at odds. The actors and soundtrack were impressive as well.

I was pleasantly surprised with 'Surrounded' since I expected the same hackneyed cliches which, yes, were there, but modified into a watchable movie. The director did an amazing job of balancing those very cliches into well portrayed performances by one and all. There were interesting character studies which included both the protagonist and 'the bad guy'. Is anyone all good or all bad? Depending on the circumstances, are we all capable of sliding between those two moral opposites? The cinematography was well done and landscape scenes downright beautiful. If you are willing to watch a western that not only has the gunfights but asks you to explore the motivations behind the action, give 'Surrounded' a try.

I'm writing this given the limited number of reviews, obviously skewed by those likely associated with the film writing gross exaggerations (worthy of awards etc.) and 1 viewer whose written essentially the same review with a 1 rating three times.

Cinematography is very good, plot has a few good twists that keep up the suspense. For me there were 3 glaring times that essentially "speeches" were awkwardly worked into the dialogue on race, feminism, etc. That really disrupted the continuity and credibility.

On the credibility front the slight female lead proceeds to kill about a dozen men, claims to have been the best soldier in the Union army during the civil war (a war in which physical strength mattered) and at the end chooses to violate the very values she refused to compromise for the entire movie despite great risk and pressure.

It's a mixed bag from my perspective but an interesting watch for a number of reasons.

No pun intended - and obviously our main character is not alone in the classical sense. There always is at least another person in close proximity. Not that she is happy for anyone being near her ... but that is a different story. Actually it is the same story - and something that plays out quite nicely towards the end.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I am a bit of a sucker when it comes to western movies or the genre in general. I really like them - and I also have been accused of rating too good. So I reckon you have to take this into account. But I really liked the female lead here (you may know her from Black Panther or some other stuff she has done over the years), but also the other actors. This may be the last movie Michael K. Williams appeared in - he will be missed.

Good suspense, good shootouts - what more can you want and need? Story is well told too of course.