Issue date: 10/6/08 Section: The Scene

Media Credit: courtesy photo Ed Harris' Virgil Cole and Viggo Mortensen's Everett Hitch learning the lay of the land of Appaloosa. [Click to enlarge]

Based on the novel by Robert B. Parker, Appaloosa is the story of two friends, Virgil Cole, played by Ed Harris, and Viggo Mortensen's Everett Hitch, who are hired to rescue the small town of Appaloosa, from the villain of the story Randall Bragg, played by Jeremy Irons.

The duo arrives in the town, thinking the mission would be easy, but the situation quickly turns tense as young widow Allison French appears stealing the hearts of the villainous Bragg plus the do-gooder Hitch, making the story poor and predictable.

I expected more action and less drama from this adaptation, but after 30 minutes of boring dialogue it was all I could do to stay awake.

The problem with the movie is its just plain boring. Maybe I misunderstood the meaning of a western, but don't they normally include action? Like fights, lots of violence, guns, trains and roof-jumping cowboys. Appaloosa only includes about 10 percent leaving 90 percent of overdone and snore-inducing lines.

One positive is the setting. It's amazingly realistic and so professional. It really looks authentic. The costumes and the special effects are also done very well.

Another thing is in other western movies the cowboys are handsome and they never get themselves or they perfect hair and shiny boots dirty. In this movie they show something that is very hard to find in a Hollywood movie: ugly people. Mortensen, Zellweger, Irons, and Harris they really look bad, bringing more authenticity to the characters.

Really this is the kind of movie that should be released straight to DVD or shown only on the Hallmark channel. I never was a big fan of Western and seeing this movie made me less of a fan.

amadeo_lopez_texas@yahoo.com

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