Intelligence Vetoes This Monstrosity

Rating: 3/10 (11 December 2007)

The best way that I can describe "No Country For Old Men" is if it were an independent film. Now independent films usually end at around ten or twenty minutes, but rather than just ending there, "No Country For Old Men" dragged on into stagnation for 2 of the worst hours I have ever wasted in a movie theatre. Now, I grant you, the twisted, cold logic of Chigurh (Javier Bardem), is enough to send chills down even the most brave men and women of our society and Josh Brolin keeps an individual enraptured in the film, but Tommy Lee Jones' performance (as Sheriff Ed Bell Tom) did not impress. Where was Jones' range? His happy, sad, surprised, angry, and hurt emotions all had the exact same dead-pan face.
The plot was semi-decent-not great, spectacular, or amazing...just OK. There were several clever bits that made one chuckle, and a decent amount of suspense was thrown in. But the plot continually lost focus, and therefore, lost the interest of the audience as it went through many pointless and meaningless tangents.
The ending was awful too, I mean, it appeared as though they simply ran out of money and couldn't film any more, so they just tossed what they had onto the screen. No resolution, no conclusion, and nothing to indicate the Jones' last monologue motivations.
All in all, (and this is coming from a man who cries every single time he watches "Brokeback Mountain") a pretty awful experience.