Epic blockbuster that gets many things right

Rating: 7/10 (8 November 2006)

Tombstone is arguably one of the more 'accessible' Westerns  a readily-molded popcorn flick that serves plenty of action, emotion and fun. Former hard-boiled lawman Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell), his two brothers and his tuberculosis-infected friend Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) move westward and settle in the town Tombstone to retire and lead the profitable good life. This is grossly undermined by a band of outlawed cowboys who stir up a conflict with the authority.
First let me say that the occasional shortcomings that 'Tombstone' has are what makes it a good film in the first place. To put it bluntly, it is a mish-mash of old 'harder' Westerns that has been filtered through Hollywood producers and softened up to a shameless blockbuster calibre. From the dramatic musical crescendo and the damsels in distress to the wide-ranging extended cameos by a big high-profile cast  it's accessible and fun and it makes no pretense about it. It is also so far into the Western genre with the dusty outback, the moustaches, the tense duel looks, the relentless alcohol-chugging and gunslinging characters that is almost tips over into camp territory.
The good news is that Tombstone never quite slips that far and instead remains not only afloat but periodically extremely entertaining. At all other times, it manages solid fun. As said, hard-boiled graphic gore is kept to a relative minimum in the film which undoubtedly only makes its infrequency all the more effective. The acing is also top-notch  if a little theatric, but hey, it's Western  Russell and the others crisply retain an emotional transparency throughout and the prevalence of emotionally-charged looks among them is particularly impressive. In the ultimate showdown (that spans across the entire movie) between law-men and outlaws, the key word is tension, and Tombstone aptly plays upon the former at all times.
7 out of 10