A good, but overrated, modern western

Rating: 7/10 (26 January 2008)

I had high hopes for this movie since it was rated high enough to crack the IMDb top 250. Ultimately, however, I concluded that the film is overrated although it is still one of the best westerns in recent memory (which, admittedly, is faint praise).
First of all, forget about any artistry in the direction along the lines of Leone et al. Mangold's direction is mostly flavourless. The score and sound were recently nominated for Oscars but neither really stood out for me.
The cast is fairly solid with a couple of standout performances in supporting roles, namely Ben Foster's villainous Charlie Prince and Peter Fonda's crotchety Byron McElroy. Headliners Bale & Crowe are solid, if not up to the level of some of their previous performances.
My biggest problem with the movie was that it took a while for the story to 'grab' me. Luckily, the film does start to gather steam eventually and the ending even provides some subtle commentary on good guy/bad guy archetypes.
Make no mistake, it's a good western, which is a rarity these days. Just don't expect a masterpiece.