Many people have said i am way too honest, don't know if that is a good thing or not?
Hope you li...
Many people have said i am way too honest, don't know if that is a good thing or not?
Hope you like reading my stuff and thank you in advance for doing so.
Member since:31.01.2001
Reviews:59
Members who trust:7
There are a lot of factors that, sometimes can make a great Western -- director, actors and script are the most obvious. More often than not, it has to be the combination of those three. Tombstone combines two of these three elements, brilliant acting and an interesting script, part mythical and part updated realism. Unfortunately, in the hands of director Cosmatos, this combination produces not magic but, against the odds and Val Kilmer's best acting efforts, a mediocrity.
The film begins rather ignoring history. The Tombstone area is controlled by a red scarf-wearing band of 100 outlaws called the Cowboys. Into town ride the Earp brothers and family, where they meet up with Wyatt's long time friend Doc Holiday (Val Kilmer). Wyatt (Kurt Russell) and Virgil (Sam Elliott) are retired lawmen determined to turn their energies towards commerce. But the continued violence of the Cowboys finally drives them back into the arms of the law.
The narrative is random but punctuated by brilliant action scenes, rather than constructed of them. In the face of all logic, the focus is constantly on one man and the indignities he suffers until, finally, he has been so wronged that any vengeance is warranted. We are constantly moved from exposition to romance to some great action scenes, lacking both good storytelling and poetry.
This is not an evolving story, this is a rather poorly put together, badly explained and tied together story, that just goes on for way too long. This said, Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday and Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp almost win over the 'off the point' narrative and unnecessary slow paced drama.
As the jaded poetry writing killer, Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday is amazing, truly an outlaw of legend. Kurt Russell is so much better than the film is potraying him, you almost feel sorry for him. In general, the cast is splendid and there are some truly classic scenes here -- especially a confrontation between Doc Holliday and leader of the Cowboys - Johnny Ringo.
But the film is inconsistent, there are two or three peaks but no climax. It focuses more on modernising the action scenes than on historical accuracy. Worse than that, for every scene Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell excel themselves and keep the film moving along, the director Cosmatos, seemingly hacks their ground work apart by his ludicrous slow paced drama fetish. But if you really love Westerns, despite its faults, it's got to be a must for Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell's performances alone.
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I sorely disagree with your assessment of this movie, but you explained your reasons for downrating this excellent movie well. No one can please everyone. I just can't help thinking that you're confusing this with Kevin Costner's WYATT EARP, which--running over three hours--really was tediously slow and bogged down with details a general audience could care less about. --AJF
This Western has become a modest cult favourite since its release in 1993, when the film ... more
was met with mixed reviews but the performances of Kurt Russell (as Wyatt Earp) and especially Val Kilmer, for his memorably eccentric performance as the dying gun...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Entertaining, 9 hours of footage, 21 of The Undertakers greatest matches Disadvantages: I dont think that all of his greatest matches made it on to the DVD
![Tombstone [DVD] [1993]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78533505.jpg "Tombstone [DVD] [1993]")
Mar 7th, 2001
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