I have never been a huge fan of the western genre of movies, and this film did not change my mind. I expected more from the movie, and it did not deliver. I definitely think it could have been better in many ways. It followed the typical western theme of "sheriff hunting an outlaw, sheriff and outlaw meet and have a shootout, sheriff wins," which I found dull and boring. I grew up watching John Wayne movies with my family, so I've seen my fair share of that typical plot, and I wanted something different from this film. I think the only points that distinguished it from the westerns I've seen was that the main characters were friends turned enemies, and that there was no clear hero and villain. It was hard to distinguish if the Pat Garrett was the hero or the villain, and the same with Billy the Kid. There was also less shooting than I expected, seeing as that is another typical theme in westerns. It's always interesting to see singers deviate from their careers and act in movies. There were two singers in this film, Kris Kristofferson (Billy) and a favorite of mine, Bob Dylan (portraying Alias). I thought Kristofferson gave a fairly good performance, being that he was the main character. To no fault of his own, his character was boring and I wasn't very upset about his fate. It seemed like Billy had no depth as a character, which made it difficult for me to stay interested in his story. On the contrary, I enjoyed Dylan's character and found myself hoping he would survive till the end of the story. I think this is partially because he was more of a minor character, which meant that he did not have as much room to disappoint. In fact, the only scene I enjoyed in the movie was centered around Alias. In the scene, Alias is asked to read the labels of the cans on the shelf while the sheriff talks to some other members of outlaw group. Dylan's character did not do a whole lot, which makes him sound boring, but to me it made him more interesting because when he could occasionally do something major I would be temporarily be pulled back into the story. Another distinguishing point of the film was the soundtrack. Composed completely by Dylan, it was different from the soundtracks I'd heard in other westerns. I felt that the music told more of a story than the film did. It set the mood for the scenes, which was helpful because without it I wouldn't have known what to feel, if I felt anything at all. This is one of the few films where I have watched it and not felt anything during the movie or after. I didn't even feel disappointment because I had few expectations for the film. I was especially disappointed not only at the dull storyline, but also that the most famous song from the soundtrack didn't make it in the movie except for a few seconds. The song I'm referring to is "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," one of my favorite Dylan songs.. I thought it would at least be at the end, but I was surprised when it wasn't presented in its entirety, and was placed at an awkward time in the film during an unnecessary scene (feature below, along with the full song on the right).
One of the main problems I had with the film was how dirty it was. I knew it was rated R, but I expected that was only for language, which might I add was quite vulgar and did not add anything to story. I found myself having to fast forward through a couple scenes because they were way dirtier than I expected and I did not need or want to see what was going on to say the least. Those scenes had no purpose whatsoever in the film..
Overall I did not enjoy the movie, and I would not recommend it to anyone. It was difficult to stay focused on the plot, and the storyline was typical, so I knew how it would end. I read some reviews, many of them singing the film's praises, so maybe I missed something,. It was hard to sit through the movie and I lost interest so either I missed the point or it wasn't there. If you're trying to branch out and watch a western film, I would advise you to not watch this one as it might ruin them for you. It have not written off the western genre as a whole, and I plan to review more westerns in the future, but this one definitely did not suddenly give me an interest in them. The only enjoyable parts were the ones with Alias, and the music made me feel more than the movie did, as well as conveying more emotion.
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AuthorHello fellow film lovers! Just a little bit about me: I love movies from the Old Hollywood era, especially musicals. In general, my movie taste is a bit all over the place. I don't really stick to one genre, as I just watch whatever looks interesting! I look forward to broadening my horizons in terms of film and reviewing them to the best of my ability in an honest way. Reading another passion of mine, and I'm frequently told I have an old soul, so expect to see a lot of older films being reviewed. I hope you can find what you need here! Archives
May 2019
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