Rust

As a western-fan I like the story, but it could have been more extensive. The problem is you get the clue quite early, and then it's just feeling like a slow chase scene for almost 2 hours.

The movie is 2 hours and 19 minutes, but things actually get more tensive after 1,5 hour. That's why it's 45 minutes too long. And for a movie that's too long, the finale ironically goes too fast. The movie doesn't have a "wow" but more "oh, okay..." effect after seeing the finale.

The characters are amazing, and can be turned into actual individual movies, especially 'the Preacher' played by Travis Fimmel. The dreariness of each character and their actors really ads to the dark tone of the movie. That's how western movies are supposed to be. Minus the fact that there are maybe too many characters at one point. It can be confusing at that point.

The most excellent part of the movie is the cinematography and scenery. It's incredibly sad Halyna Hutchins never saw the end product of her great talent on the big screen. The film industry lost a great artist with her tragic death (and unpopular to say, but the movie shouldn't be treated as "controversial" because of that). The movie really catches the feeling of traveling in the wild west, and is at least a beauty for the eye alone.

Because the movie relies more on the atmosphere and scenery instead of a bigger story, it is a must watch for western fans, but I doubt if it's a great movie for the rest of the audience. They spent too much time on the movie itself instead of the story. Therefore it's a decent movie, but a missed opportunity to become a 21th century classic in the genre.

The tragic circumstances surrounding the making of this film shouldn't be a weight on the gravity of the film itself. This is a serious, well-made production. It's well-written, beautifully shot, solid acting and a poignant story.

When Brandon Lee was killed in an accident during the making of "The Crow," there wasn't any sort of this type of outrage. It's not fair to Rust to apply a different standard to the same type of accident.

Rust is a story in the vein of "Unforgiven" in that it's a raw, real, lived-in western experience, not a piece of polished Hollywood piffle. It's rare that a film will take such chances, and Rust should be credited for having the guts to be raw and real.

I have written an unpublished book about the accidental shooting of Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza on the New Mexico set of Rust. My book is about how accidents happen, not the movie. I am not a fan of Westerns nor low budget movies but I enjoyed Rust. Joel Souza surprised me with a well written movie, a depth of characters and morality that I did not expect. Wood Helm and Lucas Rust characters were well acted and Alec Baldwin never over shadowed his co-stars in a reserved portrayal of a broken man. I hope everyone pays to see Rust. Any proceeds go to Halyna Hutchins per an end of credits video. Halyna's death was a terrible accident caused by many foreseeable and unforeseeable events. Tragic if people feel it does not honor Ms. Hutchins going to see the movie.

I'm going to judge this movie based on its storytelling, acting, directing, and cinematography - not on what I think of Alec Baldwin as a person or the tragic incident onset.

Story: I think it was fine. It might not be the most compelling of story, but it was good enough for me - meaning it was engaging for the most part. There were some things that didn't make sense to me, but it's not a major gripe.

Acting: I liked everyone is this film. Even the kid(s) were ok. Shout out to Travis Fimmel - I'm glad he's getting better roles since the Viking series - Richard Gunn, and Francis Fisher. I felt that their portrayals were outstanding.

Directing: Also good, IMO. There weren't any fillers or wasted shots, I thought. The actions were quite good, as well - I knew where everyone was at all times and what was happening. As were the dialogues and the quieter moments.

Cinematography: Montana is simply beautiful. I wished there had been more wide vista shots, but it's a quibble. Generally, what we had were good and established well the period and locations.

Overall: 7.5.

Probably went into this thinking of Halyna Hutchins. RIP.

The cast is great. For all his faults IRL, Baldwin can certainly act, Flimmel is good and the cinematography is fantastic. This movie is A tribute to HH, she was quite the talent.

However, it is overlong. At nearly 160 minutes, for a film that rarely changes its tone, it is too long. It definitely needs some more pruning in editing room.

Generally recommended, if you have time to watch it.