Good Coen Bros film - But far from their best.

Rating: 7/10 (5 December 2007)

I'm going to go against the grain here. Everyone's gushing about No Country for Old Men. A new or mediocre director would've earned high praise from me. The problem with this movie is, it was made by a couple guys who've been behind some of the most creative movies and characters American cinema has produced in the last...well, period.
By many metrics No Country for Old Men is very strong. Suspense, tension, cinematography, editing, lighting, and so on. Acting? Well yeah, it's strong -- starting of course with excellent actors. And the Coen Brothers are great at eking wonderful performances out of actors and creating amazing little moments with quirky regional characters. Fargo, Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, et al. rate among my favorite movies.
But the characters in this movie didn't particularly develop or evolve. They seemed pat, and ended as they started. It's true, the twisted, truncated ending was refreshing of sorts (no ribbon bows here). But besides that, and death by captive bolt gun, I felt I'd seen nothing new. Nor is the viewer challenged to figure anything out. The story is actually pretty thin. Competent? Yes. Inspired? Sadly, no. The C Bros have raised the bar so much in the past, I should let them get away with making a solid, basic thriller. But people are raving about the genius of this movie and I sure didn't see it.