I believe I've said on here numerous times in the past that I AM NOT a fan of westerns. I have seen very few that I enjoyed (Unforgiven, Pale Rider) and absolutely hate some (Outlaw Josey Wales).
This morning I was flipping through HBO On Demand when I came aross Tombstone. Being as today was my day off, I was looking for a good way to kill some time. Clocking in at over two hours, I figured it'd be a decent time killer. I got much more than I expected.
Tombstone is a fantastic film! I'm really quite suprised at how much I enjoyed it. Kurt Russell was a fantastic choice as the stoic Wyatt Earp. The film also had more fantastic actors like Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton (took me a while to spot him), Michael Biehn, Val Kilmer, and the always great Sam Elliot.
The film follows Wyatt Earp as he moves to the new upstart gold mining town of Tombstone, AZ with his brothers (Paxton and Elliot) and their wives. Wyatt, being a famous gunslinging peace officer is asked by the officals in the town to take a position as the town cop. He refuses, only wanting to live quietly and make some cash.
Soon, the town is starting to be hasselled by a group of outlaws called "The Cowboys". When one of the group kills the local Marshall, the Earp brothers, excluding Wyatt decided to become law officers. As things progress Wyatt is eventually pushed into doing what he didn't want-Taking Authority.
The acting in this film as I said earlier was great. Kilmer's accent did bother me some, but his acting was pretty much spot on. I can't believe that I have passed by this film so many times over the years and never even gave it a second thought. This film is now on my MUST BUY DVD list!
If their was an actor who deserves more parts in films, it's Kurt Russell. This is the man who made the ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK character 'Snake Plisskin' a legend in it's own right, as well as starring in some above average work like THE THING, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, BACKDRAFT, and TOMBSTONE! Hell, even his younger Disney flicks THE COMPUTER WHO WORE TENNIS SHOES and NOW YOU SEE HIM, NOW YOU DON'T are worthwhile family classics.
Hollywood, give this man another chance. Please.
Really enjoyed this film also. Saw it for the first time about 2-3 years ago. My quote is from the movie. I thought Val Kilmer was great as well. Great Western film. I have a re-print copy of the official Tombstone newspaper from the time and the reporter said that Wyatt Earp and his buch were cool and calm during the action. When I get a chance I look up exactly what the reporter said. They give you a free copy of that issue just for stopping by the Epitah museum and office.
Everyone I talk to about this movie inevitably thinks that Val Kilmer/Doc Holliday is the coolest thing under the sun. And while I agree that he's a pretty cool character, it's Wyatt Earp that comes off looking like the REAL badass in this one if you ask me. Hell, he spends the first five minutes or so of the movie just smacking Billy Bob Thornton around and telling him that if he reaches for his gun he's going to kill him. That's AWESOME!
"Go ahead...skin that smokewagon and see what happens!"
What a great line!