Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Tale Of The Changing West!
Review: Kevin Costner certainly has a way with a camera, offering up some of the most memorable cinematography of the American West since his classic "Dances With Wolves" in this stirring tale of the fateful changes sweeping over the range with coming of greater population and the need to share the range with others. Indeed, one often has the sense that Costner would rather tool away all the time he has on sweeping vistas and incredible sunsets than on character development. Still, this movie reminds one very much of Steve McQueen's elegant performance in "Tom Horn" in its portrayal of men caught in changes they neither appreciate nor understand on either side of the cultural divide between warring factions in this sometimes terrific movie. It also recalls other memorable movies such as "Pale Rider" and even "Shane" in its depiction of a reluctant bad man forced by dint of circumstance to strap on his gun just one more time. The cast is all superb, from Costner, as a man with a violent past who is left with little choice but to ply his trade in murder and mayhem to protect all he values, to Robert Duvall, as his struggling trail boss, to Annette Benning as the love interest for Costner's character. Michael Gambon camps it up as the sleazy bad guy doomed to face Costner's eventual rage, and the posse of range warriors he has in tow is also quite formidable and suitably doomed for destruction. The story is quite predictable, the issues over the range war are fairly well developed, and we all know that while Costner and Duvall are battling against the future, we understand they will lose the battle and then gracefully surrender to the forces of modernity over time. This is another terrific western, along the lines of "Unforgiven" and a number of the others mentioned above, and this one is certainly worth a gander. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Warning!
Review: Be ready for a GREAT western! In a day where fancy special effects seem to rule, it is such a joy to watch a movie shot on great locations intertwined with an even bettter story. Customers may also like "Treat Your Own Knees" if they suffer with knee pain- also available here at amazon.
Rating:
Summary: Costner's best in many years
Review: OK, maybe it's a 4.5 star but really it is quite a good movie. I'm a fan of Westerns, do alot of Single Action black powder shooting (member of SASS) and talk to a number of folks who are into the Old West. We all agree that this movie makes a real effort to be true to the essence of that period. The sets and scenary were awesome. The scenes in the town during the rain storm make you glad you live in the 21st Century believe me. They show you what it truely was to live in a western town. . . cold, drafty buildings, muddy streets, no medical care, etc. Still it was a fantastic time to be alive in America. Go west young man! The plot is interesting and very believable. The range is closing in and greedy land barrons wanted the grazing land to themselves. Fights over range land did occur many times (Johnson County War for example) and so this is very realistic. The gun fight was excellent. Fast, chaotic, violent! I definitely will watch it again many times. It's up there with Tombstone and Long Riders (and just a notch below Unforgiven.
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Effort
Review: One of my criticisms of Costner as a director is that he has a tendency to dawdle when developing a plot, devoting far too much time and (albeit loving) attention to the introduction of main characters and their circumstances. Thankfully, the pace accelerates during the middle portion of this film when Boss Spearman (Duvall) and Charley Waite (Costner) finally have their shoot-out with Denton Baxter (Gambon) and his thugs. Then the film resumes its languid pace and the plot gradually evaporates. Obviously, Costner has seen and admires earlier westerns such as Shane, The Sheepman, Will Penny, and Pale Rider. There is a classic formula for westerns and Costner respects it. Probably too much, thereby diminishing dramatic impact. The acting in this film is solid, although (as in Secondhand Lions) Duvall again seems to be recycling his portrayal of Gus McCrae from Lonesome Dove. Annette Bening (playing Sue Barlow) does about as much as anyone could with flimsy material. Costner seems as awkward directing love scenes as he does appearing in them. That is appropriate in this instance, however. He is entirely credible as the "socially challenged" Charley as is Gambon as the obligatory villain, Baxter. The supporting cast is first-rate, notably Abraham Benrudi, Diego Luna, Michael Jeter, James Russo, and Kim Coates. The production values are outstanding. However, this film seems at least 20-30 minutes too long (its running time is 138 minutes) and I blame that on Costner's direction. Those familiar with Gunga Din (which has a much more complicated plot) may be surprised to know that it has a running time of only 117 minutes. This film is an uneven achievement, not up the standards set by Dances with Wolves, but certainly more entertaining than so many others which have appeared in the last few years. FYI, because this film consists of three separate but connected parts (Before Shoot-Out, Shoot- Out, and After Shoot-Out), I arrived at a Four Star rating by adding up three separate ratings (Four, Five, and Three Stars) and dividing the total by three. Because of the clumsy final scene between Sue and Charley, I was tempted to deduct a Star but decided to give Costner the benefit of the doubt. His ambition exceeded his reach but Open Range is a worthy effort nonetheless.
Rating: 
Summary: Snoozer!
Review: Kevin Costner (along with JLo and Tom Cruise) should be banned from making any more films in the future! Is it in his contract that every film he must make involve dirt, boredom and insignificance?
Rating:
Summary: Tired of explosions every 5 minutes?
Review: Settle back for a story that has real adult people. Actions have consequences. Cheers for Costner's faith in a genre that has faded only due to poor stories. An audience will always respond to the well done effort. Here's one.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: While not exactly historically accurate, this is one heck of a movie. Bob Duvall delivers the performance of a lifetime, one that will probably go overlooked by the box office obsessed oscar (tm) commitee ! Kevin costner phones it in....
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good Western
Review: Open Range follows a tried & true recipe for good western movie making - good guys, bad guys, and the hero gets the girl in the end. In a recent interview, Kevin Costner said he has always admired the movies of director George Stevens (Shane, 1953) and one can see the similarities that exist between Open Range and Shane - established cattle ranchers wanting to rid themselves of range invaders. However, if there is a place where Open Range falls short of Shane it is in the development of the characters of the cattle ranchers as bad guys. In Shane we get to know Rufus Ryker and his clan of evil cattle barons very well, and we get a great chance to learn to dislike them before the final gunfight occurs. In contrast, Open Range does not establish the same in-depth understanding of the leader of the cattle ranchers, and why we should hate him and his other ranchers enough to have them gunned down in the streets by the open range ranchers (Costner and Duvall). In fact, I had some sympathy for the cattle ranchers in the final gun battle. Those points aside, in a year of movie disappointments(Gods and Generals and Gangs of New York), Open Range is a good movie to watch from beginning to end.
Rating:
Summary: A refreshing change of pace
Review: "Open Range" is a great relief from the predictable plots and characters that we usually have pawned off on us as entertainment. I appreciated the extra time Kevin Costner devoted to developing both aspects in this beautiful movie. The scenery is the first thing that grabbed my attention, and then the characters sucked me in. Some folks complain that there's too much non-action in this, but the scenery is so breathtaking that I didn't mind at all. The gun fight was the most realistic I've ever seen and it made me feel like I was standing there in the town watching it. As far as the love story between Kevin and Annette Benning all I can say is it's about time someone showed some respect for the minds of the viewers! I don't need graphic sex scenes to illustrate the love between two characters. Besides, back in the 1880's, I'm betting that people were much more restrained than they are now. Why? Because we didn't have movies yet! Seriously, I give Open Range two thumbs up, simply for the intelligent story telling. I hope to see more of the same from Costner, who now seems mature enough and independent enough to practice his craft in the same class as Gregory Peck.
Rating:
Summary: Great flick
Review: Jeff Shannon must have missed Dragonfly, but whatever (that too was a very entertaining flick). Anyway, Open Range is a slow paced Western, but excellent none the less. The only part of this film that needed to be reworked when being made was the ending. Very strange. Other than that, Costner is once again, at his best. Speaking of Kevin, anyone who thinks this guy is a bad actor can go jump off a cliff. Kevin Costner is a great actor and makes excellent films (ok, so Waterworld and The Postman weren't all that great... like Tom Hanks has never made a dud!). Go Costner. And go buy this DVD when it comes out.
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