Review of Open Range (2003) by Compi24 — 28 Nov 2012

"Open Range" is a 2003 film directed by and starring Kevin Costner. The movie tells the story of two cattle ranchers (Costner, Duvall) who are forced to take up arms when threatened by corrupt lawmen.

The movie to me looked like it was gonna' be a slightly boring film about life on the. . .wait for it. . .open range. I was half right. A very large portion of this movie's beginning 45 minutes is about just that.

However, past that point the movie picks up with a fairly plain, but still enjoyable plot. The characters in the movie are pretty good. Duvall's portrayal of Boss Spearman is the best in the film, by my opinion.

I thought Costner's performance was a little stoic, but not bothersome (makes me think that that was the intention). The script was standard in terms of dialogue I guess. Then again, I wasn't alive during the 19th century, so I have no frame of reference.

The best and most entertaining point in this film is the last hour where the film's most impressive set piece is set into motion - a really incredible gunfight happens. It's shot spectacularly well - a worthy testament of Costner's directorial aptitude.

Through and through I found "Open Range" to be a fairly entertaining film with a great climax.