True Grit (2010) Review

A solid, well written, well directed, well acted, and just overall very well made film that's filled with suspense, heart, and, of course, grit. It's so good, I'll go ahead and say as of today, this is my second favorite film of 2010, just behind the Sci-Fi epic, Inception. I just love how it takes it's time with the characters, story, and direction to give us a straight up awesome film, with little flaws about it. The story is about Mattie, a tough young girl, who's father was killed by outlaw Tom Chaney, and she want's revenge. But she, only 14, can't do it alone, so she hires Rooster Cogburn, played by Jeff Bridges, who did really well in this film, to track the killer down. The story plays along quite nicely and really shows the hard work put in this film. Now, let's talk about the Best and Worst of this film. First the best: Now, there was a lot of good things in this film, Hailee Steinfeld, the dialogue, the character interaction, but my favorite part is something nobody expected from these directors: The last few scenes. *MAJOR SPOILERS* So, Chaney knocked Laboeuf out. and Cogburn has a horse on his leg (Don't ask), so Mattie has Chaney gunpoint, shoots him dead, but the recoil knocks her into a pit with a snake. Cogburn runs up, now free from the horse, and helps Mattie, but she get's bitten by the snake in the arm. As they ride off on horse, you see all the people they had killed, with there horses looking at there lifeless bodies, almost as if they're waiting for them to get up. It's a great scene, but it get's even better (Or worse, depending on your perspective). Mattie's horse get's exhausted, so Cogburn kills it, and then get's her to a doctor. 25 years later, you discover that Mattie lost her arm to the snakebite, and she get's an invite to a show where Cogburn is performing, but she discovers that he died 3 days earlier. She visits his grave, and then just walks away. *END OF SPOILER* It just shows that this movie is taking major risks, and succeeding. Now, the worst: Matt Damon. Now, don't get me wrong, he did OK, but that's just the problem. Every actor, from the big names to the small, did excellent, except for Damon. He seemed boring and bland, and his character was pretty pointless except for the last few scenes. He just didn't do good in this movie. So, yeah, those are my pros and cons, (Or con, as Damon was really the only problem with the film) so I don't think I need to go any further. This film shows that Westerns are still here, sure they aren't cheery and happy in the end, like most John Wayne films, but they're still riding strong. I'd recommend this to fans of darker westerns, or fans of the Coen brothers. I don't think you'll regret watching it.

5/5