Appaloosa - B-

On DVD. Lawyer's theatrical review is here.

Ed Harris co-writes and directs this Western set in 1882 New Mexico where Harris and Viggo Mortensen play 2 lawmen recently hired by the town of Appaloosa after their sheriff is murdered by Jeremy Irons. Mortensen and Harris have great rapport and seem to enjoy working with each other. The running gag of Harris struggling for words gets tiresome real quick and Renee Zellweger seems uncomfortable and out of place as Harris’s new love interest. Her character is more suitable for film noir than a western. I don’t watch films expecting twists, so I usually miss them, but the twists here were easily detected . . . While the script is familiar, Harris is able to stage an impressive set piece when he is forced to hand over a prisoner. He’s on a train which overlooks some kidnappers. He also gets good use of the Dean Semler-photagraphed landscapes. There’s also a terrific closing credits with the use of a Tom Petty song when he was with Mudcrutch: “Scare Easy”. But ultimately there’s not enough new stuff here to get excited about. Mortensen and Harris are great as expected, but Zellweger annoys and disappoints. B-