A last hurrah for the cheesy fun western.

Rating: 7/10 (4 November 2014)

Tombstone is not sophisticated, or deep, or emotionally weighty. However it is quite special nevertheless. In a time after 'Unforgiven' supposedly killed the traditional romanticised western, for this ball of cheese and fun to have been made is a happily defiant stance for simple and fun movies. Tombstone does not deconstruct, or analyse anything within its genre. It simply enjoys itself and tells a good story.
The acting in tombstone is very good, particularly Val Kilmer in my personal favourite performance of his. Kurt Russel also delivers a strong, if cheesy, performance as the standard action badass (I am aware that this is technically a biopic, however I'm fairly sure that this is not an accurate portrayal of the man). Their acting is enhanced by the clichÃ© and simple, but well paced screenplay. The film's humour is also pretencion free and charming, hearkening back to the golden age of westerns.Despite the obviously throwback nature of this film, it doesn't feel tired. The acting and writing is still slick and modern despite keeping the spirit of the past. It really is a fun little example of how to do a silly throwback well, and still have occasional moments of weight and gravitas (once again mainly through Val Kilmer).
On the downside, the film lacks a satisfying enough conclusion and in general seems to lack direction in its third act. I was also disappointing by the lack of satisfying material for Sam Elliot or Bill Paxton, two actors I genuinely like in supporting roles.
Overall however, despite hardly blowing my mind or challenging me, I enjoyed my viewing of Tombstone. After Unforgiven killed the genre, for a film the brazenly cheesy to come out a year later was a big risk. In my opinion, it paid off.