Review of Hostiles (2017) by Bhbarry — 04 Jan 2018

“Hostiles” stars Christian Bale and Rosamund Pike and was written and directed by Scott Cooper. The film attempts to capture the reality of life in the late 19th Century west as did “Unforgiven” but, unlike the latter film, it fails to keep the interest of the viewer as this small group of soldiers, some native American prisoners and a settler/survivor make their way from New Mexico to Montana facing the never ending obstacles of weather, terrain, hostiles and outliers.

The film is too long and lacks the substance needed to overcome what basically are scenes of campfires and trails with actors mostly mumbling insignificant dialogue. I give the film a 7.0 rating based mostly on the magnificent photographic work of cinema photographer Masanobu Takayanagi and the perhaps too understated but nevertheless fine acting of Mr.

Bale.