What a ride......

Rating: 8/10 (16 November 2006)

A very good movie, well made action and with fine adult psychological aspects.
The law was what you made it. Hard to believe, but this was western America in the 1880's. Equally unbelievable to us nowadays is the fact that Earp's ride of vengeance really happened, but it did.
Outstanding performance by Russell. He nails Earp, and is the only actor to portray a sense of the personal charisma that Earp apparently had in real life. Kilmer is also good. He delivers a very watchable, outlandish and complex portrait of Doc Holliday that, like Russell, portrays a sense of who his character probably really was. Kilmer's and Russell's acting styles are so different that they interestingly show what a true odd couple these two historical characters were.
Powers Boothe portrays crazy, wild badness as the insane Curly Bill. A fine performance that provides a glimpse at one of the types of unrestrained humanity that were roaring across the western landscape in the 19th century. The other supporting actors also do a good job as they portray the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of human nature.
The director and actors have probably been to the real Tombstone, Arizona and have researched the subject matter. This is arguably the best of the Tombstone/Earp era movies. It is the only Tombstone/Earp movie you will ever need to see, but anyone who is not a western buff will also be entertained by these remarkable performances.