Rambling and occasionally unfocused, Tombstone is far from perfect but the fine ensemble cast make it worth a look

Rating: 6/10 (10 February 2019)

Successful lawman Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) heads to Tombstone, Arizona with the intention of retiring. However, when the citizens of Tombstone are threatened by an unruly group of cowboys, Earp and his brothers Virgil (Sam Elliott) and Morgan (Bill Paxton) take it upon themselves to stand up to the cowboys and protect the citizens.
I've seen quite a few westerns in my time and the best ones usually have Clint Eastwood's name attached to them. Tombstone had a 5 star rating and on the basis that this one was based on a true story I had hoped that this film would be exciting and informative. Well, it does achieve both objectives to a certain extent, but isn't what I would categorise as a brilliant film.
After an impressive start, the film seems to go into rambling mode with several scenes in the first half presumably existing to establish Wyatt Earp's heroism and perhaps why he was both feared and respected in equal measure. It's admirable to a degree, but unfortunately at times it feels a bit boring (the entire sequence at the theatre, for example, could have been omitted entirely as it has little effect on the story given how much time was devoted to it). In fact, the only reason I can fathom for its existence was to create a crass and somewhat unnecessary romance sub-plot. It's around an hour into the film before the cowboys make their return and it is here when the film starts to get back on track; there are some good showdowns and suitably tense moments - although again not as many as I was expecting.
One major problem with this film lies with a lot of its characters; the female characters in particular are very poorly written and as for general character development...well if I were to call it 'sparse' that would probably be an understatement. The fact we learn so little about each of the characters; particularly important characters such as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday make the film all the more frustrating when you realise how good it could have been if it would have just had a tad more depth.
Although the characterisation is a little flat, Tombstone does at least boast a fine ensemble cast. All the big hitters are very good, but perhaps special recognition should go to Val Kilmer whose character is perhaps the most difficult and complex one to bring to the screen and Kilmer does an excellent job making Holliday both pitiful and cocky in equal measure.
Tombstone is rambling, sprawling and at times a bit superficial and unfocused. However, it has a fine cast, some tense moments and some terrific performances. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't slightly disappointed with Tombstone, but overall it was still a fairly decent offering.