Very good, but not great...

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2008)

While I can't find anything technically wrong with "No Country For Old Men", I still can't call it great. It has been compared to the Coens' own GREAT crime caper "Fargo(1996)", and that's pretty fair. Looking at the two movies side by side, they do have a lot in common. However, "No Country For Old Men", unlike "Fargo", is almost entirely without humor. And, it offers very few incidental pleasures, e.g., no great musical score to enhance the mood, and only one or two memorable supporting characters.
"No Country For Old Men" was not based on an original screenplay by the two brothers. It is based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy. It is the first time they've adapted someone else's material, and it shows. There's no zest, no gusto, and no desire to blow our minds. For whatever reason, they've decided to make a straight-forward movie, albeit a taut, dutiful, and effective one. Here's hoping they get back to developing their own stories.