Good movie but grossly overrated

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

This is a beautifully shot movie, the scenery is sublime it truly does take you away. The story is a simple tried and tested formula good guys trying to get on with their life bad guy throwing his weight and power around and drive them off.It does capture the flavour of that time and decent attention to detail. I've watched this movie a few times and watched it on DVD with directors commentary which a rarely do, there one thing that Costner said at the end of the commentary something along the lines of " if this is the last film I ever make then I'm quite happy with that and I mean that sincerely " I might not be quoting exactly but it sat with me as it was heartfelt. He knows he made a good job of this movie and I for one am glad he made it.The gunfight at the end is one of the best you'll see in a western albeit infinite ammo time, it's well orchestrated and encompasses the whole town, eventually the townsfolk grow a backbone and get involved, just epic.

What a great simple straightforward story, told well. No time-line chopping, just a nice linear story. No tragic hero that dies in the end. Just good guys and bad guys, and a happy ending, the way a Western should be. Can you believe the Hispanic kid was not killed off? What is remarkable is that I like the movie but I dislike Costner. Not as bad as I hate some other actors, but if you watch the bonus feature, he is almost as narcissistic as Tom Cruise in his bonus interview in The Last Samurai. It helps that Costner wears a beard so he is less recognizable to me, and his voice is not too obnoxious.Another really stunning thing is that they used an older Annette Bening instead of some barely-legal fluff babe as the female lead. Bening is at the height of her power as an actress. Small things she did were really expressive, it was a joy to watch. All the talent was great, as was the camera work and editing. Yeah, it moved slowly, but I didn't care, I so enjoyed being transported back there, watching something that seemed based on believable human behavior, not Hollywood action-porn. This was obviously written before the time of first-person-shooter video games and I love it for that.I still put True Grit as the best Western. After that, I used to put Tombstone. I never liked Unforgiven that much. So this was a great pleasure, as I would slot this in ahead of Tombstone, a solid #2. The voice-over in Tombstone makes it more like you are looking at the period. This movie immerses you in the period. You feel like you are living there back then.Last week at the library I was cursed by my selection of Child 44, Atonement, and Cowboys and Aliens. Now I knew C&A was a stinker, that is why I took it it out, but the other two were a real disappointment. So this week its this flick, Breach, and the X-men future passed movie. This movie alone was worth the trip to the library, and Breach was darn good as well. I am confident the X-men movie will be another teen fanboy movie that looks more like a first-person shooter than a movie. That's OK, that's what I expect. What was a joy was seeing a Kevin Costner movie I really liked.

This is a old school western that most western fans can enjoy. I really enjoy western films, with it's touch of outlaws, survival and people trying to stand their ground in a lawless land. And it does a pretty fine job of integrating those elements. For viewers that can't stand long drawn out simple plot about how some cowboys did their jobs to get by. This film might not be for you. But if you like traditional western, that seems to be out of a dry and yet traditional novel. This is actually a pretty good watch. But I can also see how people that aren't fans of westerns can get really bored with this. What kept me focused was the partnership between Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall. I thought the respect for one another and how they went about their business to be pretty cool. Overall, it's a watchable western but not something that I would sit through again.7.2/10

Continuing my plan to watch every Kevin Costner movie in order, I come to his third directorial effort 2003's Open Range.Plot In A Paragraph: A former gunslinger (KC) is forced to take up arms again when he and his friends are threatened by a corrupt lawman.After his worst movie since the early 80's, KC responded with his best movie in 10 years. KC turned down the role of Bill in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 to do this movie, and I for one am glad he did. I'm also glad Robert Duvall took the role (within 24 hours of reading the script) as he was the only actor that Kevin Costner wanted for the role of Boss Spearman. He said if Duvall had turned down the part, he might not have made the movie at all. And that would have been a travesty. I can't praise the cast highly enough especially the two leads. Robert Duvall is perfect and KC fits this movie like a glove. It's beautifully shot and has a great score too. I'm not sure how many here will have seen it, but I love it!! At a little over two hours, this is the shortest of any movie KC has directed. I remember it took forever to come to the UK, about 6 months after its release in America, and I was disappointed (like with Thirteen Days) to find my screening less than half full, despite great reviews.