This bizarrely did nothing for me at all, despite my really looking forward to it in the end. Even Marco Beltrami’s much-praised “Morricone-style” score kind of did nothing but annoy me – another horror composer who leapt to a similar style, Christopher Young, did a much better job on Ghost Rider earlier in the year in my opinion.

Bale is good, Crowe is good, the technical stuff is good; but always boringly so. I guess when I hear the words, “old-fashioned Western” my mind leaps more readily to the bold and brassy work of Sergio Leone, especially when, like I said, Beltrami’s music so much references those works. Though the sweaty, rugged, bearded Crowe etc certainly fits Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name, this is felt to me like the much duller John Wayne type of Western (Liberty Valance and True Grit, you’re excused). I was just really turned off by it, and couldn’t really figure why I was spending 2 hours of my life watching two guys waiting for a train. Where’s the “High Noon” tension? The jagged Dollars trilogy editing? It’s all kind of saved by a fantastic ending, but I’m afraid this was just far too squeaky and by the numbers for me.

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