Movie Review - Appaloosa

Monday, November 17, 2008

Movie Review - Appaloosa

Starring Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, and Renee Zellweger

Rated R for some violence and language. Run time of just under two hours.

Appaloosa is an under the radar release that seeks to gain your hard earned dollars with its great cast and sleek old time western storyline. Granted, there are tons of people out there, including myself, that enjoy a good western and the fact that not many are released only brings out all of us at once to see any new western that pops it head out at the local box office. Case in point - I actually knew nothing about Appaloosa until Dan Stull, Cinema 3 Manager, called me and told me this was the new movie for the week. I immediately researched it and found two very exciting things - one, Viggo. In other words, I am a fan of Viggo Mortensen. He does some pretty amazing acting work in his career, including playing Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings - one of my all time favorites. The second exciting thing - this was an old time western directed and starring Ed Harris. Ed is a very talented actor as well and I just had a great feeling with the way the trailer looked. That tells me, he did a good job directing.

After watching the flick, I am assured that Mr. Harris did a great job directing the movie. Appaloosa is a great film that is powered by its performances and slight story rather than gun battles. The character studies are only highlighted more by the superb actors and the wonderful chemistry between them. Both Viggo and Harris are excellent at portraying a trusting and profound friendship without exaggerating the point. Subtle humor between the two of them creates hilarious moments that are warmly welcomed as the film does tend to run into boring bits. This is a slight problem with pacing, however the good parts more than make up for the boring parts and the flick gets on with doing what it does best. And what's that? Letting Viggo act. The man does wonders in this film and I can't express how much more of a fan I am after watching Appaloosa.

One other downturn is Renee Zellweger. Although she does a commendable job here, the overall appeal of Renee is slim for me. I hardly like any movie she is in, and rarely do I like a movie based on her being in it. I usually like movies she's in for every reason except her, which is intriguing, as she doesn't do a terrible job acting. Either way, I feel like someone else could have done the job five times better if given the chance. As a fellow reviewer commented, 'I've never understood the appeal of Renee Zellweger.'

The story of Appaloosa is a couple guys roll in to bring law to a town that has fallen under some corruption. As the two men start to enforce the law, the 'outlaws' try to scare them away. Both sides refuse to back down and soon a chase begins.

I very much enjoyed this flick and highly recommend it to fans of the western genre or fans of a well made drama. This motion picture garners my seal of approval - take that as you will.

Appaloosa is playing at Cinema 3 NOW! Go to www.fridleytheatres.com for more information and showtimes. ALSO - Don't forget, this week is the midnight release of Twilight. You can now buy tickets in advance at the box office. Buy your tickets now before they are sold out!

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