Tell Em I'm Coming - And Hell's Coming With Me

Rating: 10/10 (23 January 2012)

This movie doesn't get the credit it most clearly deserves. The casting, acting, sets, script and story is magnificent. It shows a rough Arizona town - Tombstone - in the lead up to the event that put it on the map - the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
We're introduced early in the piece to retired lawman Wyatt Earp. Earp, whilst spending time on both sides of the law, was for the most part a peaceful man. At different times in his life he was a gambler, a law enforcement officer, an investor, a buffalo hunter, a boxing referee, a teamster on a wagon train and a barkeep. Kurt Russell's Wyatt is sharp, hard and rough - but behind his eyes you see a man just trying to live his life. Russell does a tremendous job of conveying the struggles of Wyatt's life as well as showing his ruthlessness in pursuit of the cowboys.
Moving to Tombstone seeking his fortune (not for the first time) he gets caught up in a feud with the cowboy faction led by Curly Bill Brocious and Johnny Ringo. Earp's brothers Morgan & Virgil, their wives and the cunning gunman & outlaw Doc Holiday also move to Tombstone.
It is the relationship between Wyatt & Doc which forms part of the remarkable story. One man, Wyatt, a strong lawman with values of loyalty and family and the tuberculosis ridden, womanizing, card playing murderer Doc. Holiday's only loyalty lays with Wyatt. Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc is one of the history's great pieces of character acting. How Kilmer was ignored for honours (bar 2 MTV awards) is astonishing. You could watch Tombstone just to see and hear Kilmer, who also gets most of the best lines. Playing a character racked with illness is no easy task and Kilmer carries it off with what seems like relative ease. No doubt Kilmer is one of the great actors of his time.
Wyatt's develops a friendship with travelling actress Josephine Marcus whilst his relationship with his partner Mattie collapses due to her laudanum addiction. This partnership was to develop into the main one of Wyatt's life and Delaney's performance as the bubbly Marcus, while easy to ignore with all the star power around her, is quite good.
Wyatt's rivalry with County Sheriff John Behan is tested due to their feelings towards Josie, and Behan's need for the cowboys to stay in town as they are good for business. Jon Tenney plays the part of politician Behan perfectly - outwardly friendly while devious behind closed doors.
The shoot out at the O.K. Corral is a famous and often viewed spectacle in film - but none does it better than this. The scene is one to remember - the Earps and Doc slowly walking towards the impending gunfight in a line across the street is now an iconic image.
The gunfight leads to severe retribution from both sides with Wyatt leading a vendetta against the cowboys who are seeking their own revenge on the law. One famous (and true life) scene is the face off between Wyatt and Brocious at Iron Springs - hopelessly surrounded, Wyatt treads defiantly to the middle of the river to face Brocious one on one. Powers Boothe's portrayal of the dastardly Brocious is chilling. He is able to bend the minds of his cowboys to his will, while for the most part protecting himself from capture.
Michael Biehn plays the mentally unstable Johnny Ringo marvellously - he is quick to enter into a rage and his Latin wordplay scene with Doc is one of the movies memorable moments. The other cowboy offsider is Ike Clanton, played by Stephen Lang. Lang does dirty well, and he had his job cut out for him with Ike who came up against all the Earp boys and Doc at one time or another.
Doc's showdown with Ringo shows the best parts of Kilmer in Tombstone before a heartfelt final goodbye between old friends Holiday and Wyatt. Their final scene together brings together the story of the two who despite their differences have a love, loyalty and respect for one another.
While some aspects of the story are embellished for the film, left out entirely or changed, there is still no denying that this is one of the great Western movies. Considering there were times when it wasn't going to be made, was written off by Kevin Costner as the inferior Wyatt Earp story (he made his own attempt the following year) and all but abandoned by the studios, it's amazing how spectacular Tombstone is. The acting is absolutely top notch and the actors gel so well they make you believe they're really as bad or good in real life. Tombstone was the first Western I ever saw and is still my favourite movie of all time. One for lovers of Westerns and one for movie lovers in general.