Pretty good... for a Western.

Rating: 7/10 (2 February 2008)

I enjoyed the way the story was told. The actions of the characters seem at times to be counterintuitive or ludicrous. I often found myself thinking "why the hell would he do that?" As the movie continues and the story begins to unfold the "whys" get answered with bits and pieces of dialogue "filling in the blanks". Great story telling! Before watching this movie I read some of the reviews written. It seems that a lot of criticism focused on holes in the plot or a ridiculous story line. I personally can't remember the last movie I've seen that didn't leave out some aspect of the story. Do you really expect the writers to hold your hand and explain every detail of the movie's story or characters? BORING! If you need this kind of guidance I suggest you try sticking to movies geared towards the 5-10 year old audience range. Oh wait; even that audience would have an imagination capable of "filling in the blanks" for themselves.
My favorite character by far was Charlie Prince played by Ben Foster. A sly, cunning killer with a sick sense of wit. The man marches straight into the Marshals office, pretending to be an innocent witness, to report a murder and robbery he had just participated in.
The rest of the cast played their respective roles excellently. Bale and Crowe both are great actors and I enjoyed their character portrayals.
I enjoy watching movies for their varied artistic expressions. Story, cinematography, score and acting are important to me as a movie viewer. I feel that this movie excelled in all these areas. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and would recommend it to those capable of following story lines based on emotion and human psyche.