Appaloosa (2008)

Westerns have become a pretty rare breed over the last 15 years or so. You can literally count the titles from that era on one hand—"3:10 to Yuma", "The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford", "The Proposition",
"Blueberry", "The Missing", "open range", and "American ******s". A few of those actually hit the mark according to critics, especially "3:10 to Yuma", "The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford"
,
"The Proposition", and "open range", while others like "Seraphim Falls" kind of flopped. The next potential hit might be the western "Appaloosa", directed by none other than Ed Harris, who also stars alongside Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger, and
Jeremy Irons
. I don't know about you guys, but based on the trailer and stills, this looks promising. It actually reminds me a bit of "Deadwood", which was a phenomenal series and easily one of the few high-quality western projects we've seen lately.

Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.

STILLS

A sequel?!

Even though the movie hasn't even dropped yet, actor Ed Harris is already hyping up potential sequels to his gritty western "Appaloosa" which hits theaters this weekend.

Novelist Robert B. Parker actually wrote two follow-ups to the 2005 novel that "Appaloosa" is based on, and Harris told MTV News that those stories "could be combined into a sequel"
.
The second book, "Resolution", just hit shelves this year, and a third novel is already being written. Harris mentioned that the prospect of directing a sequel is "interesting" and would likely follow the same crew: Cole (Harris), Allie (Renée Zellweger), and Hitch (Viggo Mortensen).

As for the plot? "Allie runs off with some other guy. Cole tracks this guy down and shoots him, in cold-blooded murder. And then he goes and finds Hitch in this town , and They go partner up and They go to find Allie in Texas somewhere. She's in some whorehouse there, she's really in bad shape.

I'll keep this one short and sweet... hopefully lol...

Appaloosa (2008) 4/5 - TRAILER
It's a solid, classic western that feels pretty similar to another recent great one, "open range." Don't expect any wild twists or crazy surprises here; the story stays pretty straightforward and traditional. At its core, it's about friendship and how a woman can shake things up between two guys. Plus, you've got your standard bad guy and the inevitable showdown. The pacing is laid-back—maybe even a little slow at times, but it doesn't drag too much. That said, the directing is top-notch... Harris really nailed his part, and the acting is great, especially the chemistry between Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen. Those two are fantastic whenever they're on screen together. There are some killer gunfights, a bit of humor, and I have to give props to the soundtrack—that mix of trumpet and acoustic guitar really sets the mood. My biggest gripes? It runs nearly two hours, which could've easily been trimmed by 20 minutes, and Renée Zellweger is just super irritating. Their "love story" also feels forced since it moves way too fast right at the start.
Overall though, it's another really strong modern entry in this "dying" genre.

Really solid movie, especially with Viggo 😁, Ed Harris, and Jeremy Irons (and we definitely have to give a shoutout to Lars Mikkelsen's appearance too).

Viggo and Ed look incredibly cool in those scenes, honestly looks like something straight out of a high-end Levi's commercial. 😁

On another note, Zellweger really got on my nerves throughout the whole film.

Oh man, please tell me we aren't getting another remake. That classic western was filmed back in the sixties starring Marlon Brando—it was actually a pretty solid, psychedelic ride. I mean, look, maybe this new version will turn out alright, but there’s just something so incredibly uninspired about the way Hollywood constantly churns out these different versions of old movies.🙄

Frank Moore4 said:Solid movie, especially Aragorn.. I mean Viggo 😁, Ed Harris, and Jeremy Irons (and we gotta give a shoutout to Lars Mikkelsen too).

Viggo and Ed look seriously badass in those scenes, like they're shooting a Levi's ad. 😁

Honestly, Renée Zellweger was driving me nuts the whole time.

Looks like we're on the exact same page here lol😁😁

Benjamin Thompson66 said:Not another remake, man. That original Western from the 60s starring Marlon Brando was actually pretty good and trippy. Maybe this version works, but it feels so uninspired when Hollywood just keeps recycling old movies over and over.🙄

Even though the first post laid it all out... I'll just say NO.

EDIT. My bad... I forgot to mention in my first post that this is an adaptation of the Appaloosa novel from 2005(?) by Robert B. Parker. There's actually zero connection between this movie and the one from '66! From what I can tell, the plots aren't even similar... they just share a title, that's it...