Appaloosa

** 1/2 (2 and 1/2 stars)

Appaloosa (2008)
Genre: Western
114 minutes - R rating
Director: Ed Harris
Starring: Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Jeremy Irons, Renee Zellweger

Brief Plot: Two lawmen-for-hire (Harris and Mortensen) sheriff a small town that fears a local rancher (Irons), but their tried and true hard-knuckle methods are complicated when a piano-playing widow (Zellweger) comes to town.

Best Audience: Appaloosa helps resurrect the comeback that the western genre has seen this year and last. It's star power can appeal to those not typically interested in such a film, especially when you get a load of Viggo Mortensen's fabulous mustache.

My Review: Appaloosa was a directorial effort by actor Ed Harris, and I will say he did a pretty solid job. The locations were pleasing, the dialogue catchy, and the actors all very good (Mortensen and Irons in particular). Where Appaloosa fails is in the poorly written and performed role by Renee Zellweger and bad character transformation for Harris' character. It's a really fun movie to watch, and the end was very fitting, but it fell short a little bit when some elements of the story fell behind. Still a solid choice and a must-see for Viggo fans like myself.