#3
I am a big Christian Bale fan and love Westerns, but for some reason I dragged my feet on seeing it. Could have been due to getting out of my rhythm of seeing a movie every few days or worry it would be poor. I finally went to see it and …
I would give it 4 “pickles, raisens, and sugar” out of 10.
OVERVIEW
Tasked with taking back a Cheyenne chief he despises, an Army captain comes to terms with himself and the life he led.
Directed by: Scott Cooper
Written by: Donald E. Stewart and Scott Cooper
Starring: Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Jonathan Majors, Stephen Lang, Wes Studi, Jesse Plemons, Timothee Chalamet, Adam Beach, Peter Mullan, and Ben Foster
THE GOOD
The cinematography was great, but that is almost a given for Westerns due to the sweeping landscapes and a generous amount of wide shots. The acting was phenomenal thanks to a stacked cast. Christian Bale played the anger filled Army captain, Rosamund Pike played the poised but traumatized pioneer woman, Wes Studi captured the wise Cheyenne chief, and everyone else played their parts perfectly.
THE BAD
The pacing was horrible. There were so many side quests used to for character development and to introduce new characters … but it was ultimately not needed since the stoey just needed to focus on the 3 main characters. The 2 hour 15 minute run time seemed closer to 4 hours and would have been better suited for a mini-series instead of a rushed epic.
OVERALL
As far as Westerns go, Hostiles is a fantastic entry with a double sided viewpoint. Sadly, this isn’t even the best Western in recent memory as I would give that to Wind River or Godless. It has a few great moments and checks all the right boxes, but just falls short due to horrible pacing. Catch it on Redbox if you like Westerns, otherwise you can skip it.
Should Anyone Watch 