It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Continuing my plan to watch every Tom Cruise movie in order, I come to Far & Away (1992)Plot In A Paragraph: A young Irish couple (Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman) flee to the States, but subsequently struggle to obtain land and prosper freely.Cruise teamed up with director Ron Howard for what should be a slam dunk for the the pair of them, but it ends up being a total misfire. It's not all bad, it was a personal project for Howard and nobody can fault Cruise for trying something different, it does look visually impressive, but the story is not that good of believable (so much comes down to chance and coincidence) and the dialogue is poor, as are the accents on display.It takes awhile to get used to the Irish accent coming from Cruise's mouth, who is totally miscast, he was far too old for the role at 30 (he is repeatedly called "boy") but at least he is understandable, which is more than can be for some of the other cast early on. Nicole Kidman (in her second and last movie with her now husband) once again doesn't offer much to her role and Robert Prosky is such a cliché, it's awful to see such a good actor wasted in such a role. In fact the cast may not be the movies biggest problem. Whilst the idea is certainly a decent one, the script is weak and the dialogue is often ridiculous. It does have some things going for it!! As I said earlier it's visually impressive. The Oklahoma land rush is beautifully shot and looks great and has John Williams ever produced a bad score.I had not seen it in 25 years, and I remember a different ending. I won't go in to spoilers, despite the movies age. Far & Away grossed $58 million at the domestic box office, to end the year the 21st highest grossing movie of 1992. His worst performing movie for quite some time. Luckily he didn't have too long to dwell on two under performing movies in a row.

Overall, Far and Away was a good film made beautiful by a stunning soundtrack and gorgeous scenery. Concerning the plot (the most important part of ANY movie), you'll really appreciate the drastic character developments and grande-scale, almost fate-like essence to the story itself. I've found that some say the movie was lesser due to the sub-par Irish accents, but that is such a petty thing to get upset about. It's not completely convincing, but yes, it resembles an Irish accent just fine, and that is enough for me. Would you rather have some cut-rate actors that can't conjure a fraction of the on-screen chemistry shared by Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, just for the sake of a 'good' Irish accent? I didn't think so. Let it go and enjoy the beauty of this movie. This is one of those films that isn't the best thing you've ever seen, but will still leave a lump in your throat and have you wanting to watch it over-and-over to relive this empathetic romance.

A lot of people are comparing this film to Titanic, I'd rather compare it to Gone with the Wind and Downton Abbey. This film supposedly took place one century before it was filmed. Yet the topics and things that it grapples with are still with us to this day. Immigrants came from all over the world to start a new life in America, which was still largely unexplored frontier territory; only to be sucked into the same situations, caste system and society order that they had just left. Much less the clash of too many people and cultures in too close of quarters. Case in Point: Joseph and Shannon from Ireland. I wasn't sure what to expect from this film. Many had commented that they didn't care for it. I found the actors and actresses to be very believable in their parts and accents. I must agree that this is one of Tom Cruise's best roles. I was very moved by the various positions the leading man and lady were placed in. I felt every blow that Joseph received, I wanted to slap Shannon for her sharp tongue. I wanted to cry at scenes, I laughed at many. I found the music to speak volumes and was pleasantly surprised that John Williams was the composer. There were a few Schindler's List notes, but not enough to subtract or distract in the least from the film. The sweeping shots of both Ireland and Oklahoma with their openness contrasted by the closed closeness of the city made you feel closed in and dead-ended. You can even nearly smell the rank stench of men, the filth of the streets and the sweat of the oppressed. Very seldom do I find a movie that actually 'speaks' to each of my senses as this film does. Go ahead, pop it in and step back in time. Perhaps, you would also care to bring some modern tissues with you...

I saw Far and Away last year, for the first time in years. The first half of the film follows the angles of "poor boy falls in love with the rich girl", and the "forbidden relationship" that causes the "poor boy and rich girl" to flee the "old country." The second half is the story of the struggles of the young couple trying to settle in a new land. Yes, it's a little bit dramatic at times, and it has the foundations of a good, well-told story, but only when played right without being over the top. Nicole Kidman did a lovely job, and she made the role of Shannon her own; she was really believable. Thomas Gibson's portrayal of Stephen, the main antagonist, was just brilliant. He excellently played that kind of "bad guy" viewers really just love to hate! The cinematography was beautiful, as was the sweeping views of the Land Rush. Ron Howard did a great job in showing the audience an epic drama.On the downside, I could not get over the film's end conflict: Joseph (Tom Cruise) was supposed to die, right? He fights Stephen in a big showdown, falls and gets trampled by horses, and he hits his head hard on a rock, which looked like it should have been fatal. Joseph fades out, and Shannon weeps. Yet, he miraculously springs back to life because Shannon tells Joseph that she loves him? What? That ending is over the top, and a little too absurdly overdone for my tastes. Another thing, although it's minor: the name of Nicole Kidman's character. The name "Shannon" just sounds a little too modern for the 1890's, sort of like having a girl being named "Courtney" in a movie set in the Civil War. Finally, I tried very hard, but still could not get past Joseph's accent. That was a huge minus for me; to me, Joseph sounded more like Forrest Gump than a poor Irish lad. Sorry Tom, you were much more believable as Maverick on Top Gun! Nonetheless, it was still a good film that's worth watching.