Rating: 
Summary: A Good Old-Fashion Western
Review: I'm glad that this western was made, it shows that Hollywood can still make the real deal if they want to- without the rock music and revisionism. Duvall and Costner couldn't be better, and they play off of each other perfectly. The story is timeless- a cattleman trying to bully and destroy the small operators, the "free grazers." The acting is absolutely earnest- you believe it all. As the Costner character says, there are some things that gnaw at a man worse than dieing. Oh yes, and if you are going to shoot a man's dog then you better have killed him first. I have this film on DVD. The primary special feature is a voice over commentary by Costner and the Director. I don't really need this. I KNOW what I think of the movie- I like it. It is nice however to use the menu to skip over the advertising.
Rating: 
Summary: Raw, Powerful
Review: but...a little slow. From the very beginning the storm clouds are arising...which is usually a cinematic indication of bad things to come...but it takes two hours for that to happen. Don't get me wrong, I love Costner, but even his longer epics such as "Dances with Wolves" and "JFK" get to some action quicker. I saw this movie in the theater. There was a little kid sitting in the aisle entertaining himself the whole time. But once the big shoot-out began, the kid's full attention was on the screen. Sad, but true, that we are a violent species...we seek it, glorify it, and use it as a form of entertainment.
Rating: 
Summary: Did cowboys talk this way?
Review: Don't know. Duvall & Costner seem to be too smart to be free range cowboys. They seemed to be very 21st century to me but no manner. Costner puts his money where his heart is & I repect the projects he's done. The production values are always there & not cheap. He can tell & I guess he figures his customers can also. Westerns have changed over the years but this one has things in common with the oldies, such as justice redemption, gunplay a little romance. Annette Benning is a delightful diversion from the all male cast. A very good western for our times. Sure, I recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Disapointing
Review: I eagerly anticipated this movie in the mail, and when I got it threw it in the DVD player, but was disapointed, it started with a build up to the gun fight which took forever, but was made easier to cope with, with well placed humor. The gunfight was awesome, very realistic, not snipers hitting everysingle person with one shot, which I liked, but then the ending just took forever, kinda reminds me of Pearl Harbour where you wait for the action to start, but more special effects in Pearl Harbour. I would rent, do not buy, not one to add to the collection.
Rating:
Summary: Too Quiet.
Review: 'Open Range' is way too quiet. It takes forever for the plot to develop and the characters are dull and lifeless.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT FRONTIER MOVIE
Review: Beautiful scenery - great acting -- Wonderful love story -- Commentary great for understanding the aim of the movie -- Let's have more of this kind instead of Hollywood smut!
Rating:
Summary: Open Range...
Review: I guess it might be interesting for die hard fans of Westerns, but for a normal person, no it is not worth a penny. I don't recommend it to very many people.
Rating:
Summary: A bit lacking in character development.
Review: Well, I too, like others, really wanted to enjoy this film. So I went out and bought it to add to my Western collection, and gearing up for May's release of Wyatt Earp, I sat down to watch it. Well the cinemaphotography was good, considering that it was shot around Calgary, Alberta. The two main characters were well developed. Probably too much really. But the secondary characters and most importantly the villians had very little character development. So when the final gun battle started, the viewer know little to nothing about who Costner and Duvall are shooting to kill. Therefore, you really have no emotion attached to the off-ing of a bad guy. In other words, when a bad guy was blown away, you were left asking, "Who's that?" or "What's the significance of that guy?" If you knew who these guys were, you'd probably give a darn when they'd expire. But you don't. It's just another guy who got blown half-way across the street by the "splatter gun". Oh don't get me wrong, the final shoot-out was probably one of the best both visually and sounding Western shoot-outs ever portrayed on film, but like I said, you just didn't know who anybody was. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but had the director, I'm assuming Costner, spent more time telling who the bad guys were, the movie would have probably been one of the best westerns of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! Could this be the best gunfight ever?
Review: Because Open Range opened to mixed reviews I was hesitant to spend the eight bucks to see it in the theater and waited to it came out on DVD. Then I waited again, renting any mildly interesting movie before I finally renting Open Range. What a mistake. It was an phenomenal movie- Breathtaking in scope, beautiful cinematography, and action that leaves one breathless. Open Range ranks with one of the best westerns every made. Wonderfully cast with Kevin Costner as "Charlie," support by the incomparable Robert Duvall as the taciturn and wise "Boss", Annette Bening as "Sue" the love interest in the story. These roles are underplayed and natural. One does not get the impression that these actors are reaching for their part. On the contrary, the viewer is drawn into a world that is long since passed. Open range is a morality tale that does not preach at you. It simply presents the choice that men have between good and evil. Although it borrows from High Noon (lone hero, defending a town that does not want to stand up for itself, from evil.) But unlike High Noon, the story is not so simple. The lines between good and evil are not that clear. Charlie would resort to unnecessary violence to stop evil and to enact vengeance if not stopped by Boss. The town that at first refused to come to the aid of Charlie and Boss, regain their nerve and join the battle. Without the aid of the townsmen, Charlie and Boss surely would have been killed. Throughout this drama the reoccurring themes of right and wrong, and what it means to be a man are thoroughly examined. It is interesting to note the theological theme that also runs through the movie: Why would a good God allow good men to die young? The Robert Duvall character, Boss, at first takes umbrage at God, then relents as time passes. There is a sense of realism that I have not seen in other westerns. The flight out of town by citizens who wish to avoid the violence and the burial of the victims at the end of the movie are scenes rarely shown in most westerns. But if one thing stands out, it is the gunfight at the end of the movie. The violence even took me back. No, it was not the bullets ripping through flesh, but the sound and chaos of the fight that smacked of realism. Finally, I have seen a movie where gunfire actually sounds like real guns instead of fake movie sounds. The chaos of battle was seen in the missed shots at close range . . . men shooting . . . bullets flying . . . deafening noise . . . .Wow! Could this be the best gunfight ever?
Rating: 
Summary: Mother....The Paint Has Dried!
Review: I so wanted to like this film. I loved Kezza in Dances and A Perfect World and I wanted to love him in this, too. I even worked a flanker and got hold of the U.S. DVD so me, as a poor bloody Englander, could get to see it on my telly the same time as you Yanks do! Sadly, I have to say, I wish I hadn't bothered. Open Range makes the Open University (UK Gag) seem exciting. My God, Mick Gambon didn't appear until what seemed about 38 hours into the movie, and that was who I was hanging on for in the end. Kevin Costner fascinates a whole generation of balding men. He seemed to have less hair in Waterworld (The 'C' Movie) than he does now. What is his hair secret? That's what Open Range reduced me to - trying to work out how to reverse male pattern baldness!! I would have to say, only purchase this film if you have trouble sleeping at night. If you do, stick it on the DVD player about 10:30 at night and you should be sound asleep about two hours later. Very, very sad.
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