Review of Rio Bravo (1959) by Gerard M — 17 Feb 2010

I can understand why this is one of Tarantino's all time favorites. For starters, I'm not a huge fan of the Western genre, but this is a great exception. Rio Bravo is a Western but there's so much more to it than just that.

Unlike traditional Westerns, Rio Bravo does not take place on the open range, nor is there any sort of visible journey. Rather, the film is epic on a more personal scale in terms of character development.

The action sequences are insanely clever and exciting, and there is enough comedy to keep you going throughout until the big showdown in the end. Great performances from all, and hey! You get a musical sequence from Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson to boot!