Reviewed October 2011I was surprised to see in the titles that Ed Harris has directed this movie. Anyways, it resembles a bit of 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' for the portrayal of the lead characters and it is a template western with all it's stereotypes used to it's advantage. All I can say about this one is, it has nothing not to like and nothing too much to like too. Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) are reputed gunslinging partners and are hired by a town for a price to protect them from an unruly rancher, Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons). The famed duo start off in their style and stays a step ahead of the bandits by controlling their movement in the town. Then arrives a 'young' widow Allison French (Renee Zellweger) which changes the equation a bit as both Everett and Virgil fall for her. Later with a few incidents they come to know that Allison is a a woman who likes to be with the head of the pack. So it is just a competition from here to be the head of the pack as more people join the competition adding more duels, putting in loyalty in the mixture and what not. It is a western that could've had an edge, but the safe directing approach by the inexperienced Ed Harris sucks the joy out of it. In my opinion, James Mangold would've done a terrific job the same way he did with '3:10 to Yuma'. I haven't seen a lot of Viggo Mortensen apart from the LOTR series, History of Violence and Eastern Promises. In all these movie he plays a man of control and does a terrific job. He plays the same here too, but somehow feels extremely inadequate mostly I suspect because of his look here. Never been fond of Renee Zellweger and she does not raise any bars here though she lands a terrific character. The role is of a sultry seductress and Zellweger puts no effort to back it. I enjoy subtlety, but to be too subtle to even make it's point is pointless. Best watched when you are too lazy to change the movie midway and has nothing else to do.

I usually read but not write reviews. Now... I needed to write. The main reason is that I did not see anyone of the reviewers have noticed how badly the character of antagonist is developed. First he is introduced to be a cruel, cold-blooded gang leader, who does not blink his eyes when killing police officers. And suddenly towards the and he becomes a coward trying to escape justice. I mean how? How exactly this could be possible in the wild west?Otherwise it is an OK movie, worth watching, though towards the end it becomes a boring mixture of revenge and love, not quite understandable.By the way, it is worth to watch the movie just to see Viggo Mortensen's stunning act!

After Lonesome Dove the Western changed forever. Appaloosa follows perfectly in this genre, keeping to the theme of the story revealing character. Appaloosa displays such great direction in allowing moments of character revelation (which is reliant on great acting) and to take the time to allow it to happen and consequently made the movie a little short for me. I finished watching and immediately wanted a sequel because I cared about what happened next to the characters .....funny thing...Lonesome Dove was based on a novel that had to be a series, and Appaloosa is a Western movie that should have become another series....Appaloosa to me is like watching episode one of Lonesome Dove...you look forward to the next and the next...well done everyone....

In 2008's "Appaloosa" two itinerate lawmen -- Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) -- are hired to protect the New Mexican town of Appaloosa from Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons), a newly-arrived rancher with money and a gang of thugs who arrogantly murdered three local lawmen. Virgil and Everett are seasoned professionals and have no fear. Meanwhile, a cute and seemingly refined widow comes to town, Allison French (Renée Zellweger), and Virgil falls hard for her, but is she worthy of his (or any man's) devotion? Harris and Mortensen were born to play Westerners and Zellweger is exquisite as the insecure babe who always needs to be desired. Moreover, Irons makes for a first-rate Western villain."Appaloosa" is a really good modern Western featuring the typical Western staples, but with great actors, mature themes and a totally realistic tone. When the action comes it's swift and brutal, but there's a lot of slow (albeit interesting) drama, so stay away if you have ADHD and require an explosion every five minutes to maintain your limited attention span.The film runs 115 minutes and was shot in New Mexico.GRADE: A-