Appaloosa

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Appaloosa

R

Released Oct 3, 2008

1h 56m

Western

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

77%

Tomatometer

162 Reviews

55%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and his longtime friend and partner Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) travel the 1880s Southwest, bringing justice to lawless towns desperate enough to hire them. In the mining town of Appaloosa, malevolent rancher Randall Bragg and his cronies ride roughshod over the frightened citizens. As Cole and Hitch work to end Bragg's reign of terror, an unconventional widow (Renee Zellweger) arrives, complicating the job and threatening their bond.

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Critics Consensus

A traditional genre western, Appaloosa sets itself apart with smart psychology, an intriguing love triangle, and good chemistry between the leads.

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David Stratton

At the Movies (Australia)

True, the film is a little long, and it loses momentum at one stage, but generally speaking this is a most enjoyable return to what was once the cinema's most popular genre.

Rated: 3.5/5

Mar 13, 2009

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Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

Brush away the dust and you'll find a sense of nostalgia and romanticism about lost American values and altered social hierarchies.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 6, 2009

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Todd McCarthy

Variety

Dialogue, much of it lifted straight from Parker's novel, proves mostly engaging.

Oct 3, 2008

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Appaloosa bridges the gap between the old-fashioned Westerns from Hollywood’s distant past and the revisionist oaters that have been in vogue for the last half-century.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 2, 2024

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The film tells an undemanding story, with heroes and villains well-defined, simple even, but described with enough personality to keep them fascinating.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 20, 2024

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

It's more Harris's attention to dialogue, character and the film's overall production design that makes the film so memorable.

Rated: 3.0/4.0

Sep 2, 2020

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Alastair S

Well that was unexpectedly compelling. - worth a watch if you like slow paced but atmospheric westerns

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/12/25

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Dylan G

Quite a fun movie! Has the classic narration into a Wild West scene. Two old hands coming into a town controlled by a bandit's posse, with some terrific dialogue and tense encounters (YouTube shorts can attest). I suspect that the book will be a good read. Their friendship is a great part of the experience -- from the Wikipedia page, "Harris said he wanted to make the film because he was drawn to the "unspoken comradeship" of Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. 'Though they've been hanging out for years, they're not too intimate, but they know each other. Aside from in sports, or being a cop, I can't think of any other situation where a friendship like that is called for.'" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appaloosa_(film)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/25

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Robert L

Why are the ratings so low. I love this movie one of my top 10 westerns of all time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/12/24

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sue b

This film has me smiling still the next day. A wonderfully realised tale primarily of the deep friendship and respect between the two male leads, reformed gunslingers though they are.Clever script and pitch perfect acting,coupled with an involving storyline made for a memorable evening.A classic .

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/24/24

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joseph g

This movie is just dumb. The choices the main characters make are ridiculous. They tried to make another Tombstone movie but the writing is awful.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/10/24

Full Review

Tanner R

This is an excellent old school western. The best part and I believe the main focus of the movie, is the friendship and chemistry of the main characters played by Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen. Plus, Jeremy Irons plays an absolute perfect Villain as allows. Another interesting aspect is how Viggo Mortensen’s weapon, an 8 gauge double barreled punt gun (a large bore shotgun originally made to take out whole flocks of water fowl that I believe was band from that purpose because it was too effective) is almost a character in and of it’s self. With an extreme detail to realistic set pieces and props. It also has some really good humor in it as well. Note: I did not read any other reviews. So if this mirrors other others reviews and is repetitive, I apologize. I just wanted it to be completely my own thoughts and I did not want to let others influence them.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/03/24

Full Review

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Ed Harris

Director

Ed Harris

Virgil Cole

Viggo Mortensen

Everett Hitch

Renée Zellweger

Alison French

Jeremy Irons

Randall Bragg

Timothy Spall

Phil Olson

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Synopsis

Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and his longtime friend and partner Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) travel the 1880s Southwest, bringing justice to lawless towns desperate enough to hire them. In the mining town of Appaloosa, malevolent rancher Randall Bragg and his cronies ride roughshod over the frightened citizens. As Cole and Hitch work to end Bragg's reign of terror, an unconventional widow (Renee Zellweger) arrives, complicating the job and threatening their bond.

Director: Ed Harris
Producer: Robert Knott, Ed Harris, Ginger Sledge
Screenwriter: Robert Knott, Ed Harris
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Groundswell Productions, New Line Cinema
Rating: R (Some Violence|Language)
Genre: Western, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 3, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 2, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $20.2M
Runtime: 1h 56m

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