A VERY favorable review of a fine film.

Rating: 9/10 (17 September 2003)

The mystery to me is why the Buena Vista brain trust failed to see what they had -- an incredible performance by Kurt Russell (he's so angry at one point that smoke seem to come out of his ears a la Yosemite Sam!) and an Oscar-worthy one by Val Kilmer. Were they scared of the ponderous, overlong Wyatt Earp with Kevin Costner? Did they just not watch their film? The sight of Russell, Kilmer, Sam Elliot, and Bill Paxton heading to the OK Corral is breath-taking. There's not a false note -- the wives and girlfriends, particularly the two Danas, Dana Delany and Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, are real people, not Western caricatures. The bad guys, Powers Boothe (more menacing than when he played Jim Jones), Michael Biehn, and Stephen Lang are truly scary. Billy Bob Thornton is very funny in his pre-"Sling Blade" mode. And the wonderful narration by the late great Robert Mitchum tops it all off. I always seem to end up watching it whenever it's on. Thank Heaven for HBO, videos and DVDs -- without most of us would never have had the chance to see this fine, exciting film.