Review of Appaloosa (2008) by None N — 18 Jul 2009

I was surprised to discover that this was directed by Ed Harris. I thought the production value was quite low and I didn't see anything I hadn't seen in a Western before. The costumes, lighting and sets looked very cheap and even though I don't usually like Renee Zellweger, she too made this seem like a lost telemovie starring several actors before they were famous.

Viggo Mortensen's character was interesting but the whole film lacked the quality sheen of Unforgiven and the punch of Tombstone. It reinforced my feelings that the Spaghetti Westerns are much more exhilarating than a lot of American Westerns, which spend far too much time being ponderous and not enough time with guns blazing.

There are exceptions of course, like the recent (and excellent) 3:10 to Yuma, but this sits among the types of Westerns which took the genre from being Hollywood's most prominent to filling the 'Movies for Dad' page in Kmart Father's Day catalogues.