One of the best westerns of the last 3 decades

Rating: 9/10 (22 January 2004)

As with any movie involving the legend of the OK Corral, this is not history. Script writers were limited only by their prolific imaginations.
Kurt Russell plays a believable Wyatt Earp, Sam Elliot a phenomenal Virgil Earp, Powers Boothe a perfect Curly Bill, and Val Kilmer a bazaar Doc Holliday. Kilmer's entertaining interpretation of the role is unlike any done before.
This movie has a radical change in character at the mid-point. The first half consists of introductions and character development. There is plenty of action to carry the story forward, plenty of the tension of anticipating the next act of violence. The focus is on the Earps and their friends and love interests, the Clantons and their allies, and the dynamics of Tombstone. The second half is unbridled action, with no effort to tell a story. There is little story left to tell, but the action sustains the adrenalin flow, keeping the viewer absorbed while waiting for the final details to unfold.
Though the violence is more graphic then the westerns of the John Wayne era, gore doesn't become a co-star. One of the best westerns of the last three decades.