I got two guns - one fer each o' ya!

Rating: 8/10 (26 December 2000)

Tombstone is pretty darn good; it's a kind of epic story, a great example of post-modern Western storytelling in the same vein as Unforgiven, portraying the Old West as a strange mixture of the best and worst of humanity, sometimes clean, civilized and chivalrous, sometimes harsh, filthy and barbaric. It has a good story, although it runs a little too long, and the direction and cinematography is splendid.
But Tombstone is a great film because of its cast, especially one Val Kilmer, who turns in the best performance of his career as Doc Holliday, a legend with both the pistol and the shotglass. I can count at least two dozen of Holliday's lines that qualify as classics ("Maybe poker's not your game. I know! Let's have a spelling contest!"). Kilmer's delivery is the real key, and he gives a memorable performance that really carries the film, and makes Tombstone not just a good drama but an excellent entertainment.