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Film Review - Hostiles


At the start of American cinema, westerns were the main-stay that got movie goers to the theater in droves the way comic-book based super hero movies do today. Much like the Dodo bird, they have all but vanished from the big screen to make way for the aforementioned super hero flicks, car chases and sci-fi films despite some truly classic westerns hitting theaters over the past 25 years (Silverado, Tombstone, Dances With Wolves, Unforgiven).

The latest in this genre to hit the screen is Hostiles, the 4th film directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart - which won Jeff Bridges an Oscar, Out of the Furnace, Black Mass - which should have garnered Johnny Depp an Oscar nod). The film stars Christian Bale (Batman trilogy, American Psycho) as an Army captain tasked against his will and over his objection with returning an ailing Native American chief to his homeland played by the great Wes Studi (The Last of The Mohicans, Heat, Avatar). The two have a violent history with one another; Bale's character is a hardened soldier who believes it was his duty to kill "Indians" which he viewed as savages.


Along the way, their band, which includes members of the chief's family, encounter Rosamund Pike's (Gone Girl, Jack Reacher) character who joins their caravan after suffering a tragedy on the plains of New Mexico.

The movie is just over 2 hours of plodding, misplaced sentimentality. There are long moments of inaction and dialog that fails to draw you in to the story.There are times when the writer/director send not so subtle messages that Native Americans have been mistreated by our government but fails to do so in an entertaining or engaging way as was done in the movie "Geronimo" which also starred Studi. Halfway through the film I literally felt like standing up and saying "Enough"!!

The story itself is one I would not recommend you sit through in the theater despite an excellent cast and fine acting which is the ONLY reason I give this movie a 6 out of 10. With better pacing it could have rated higher.

This piece was submitted by @ATLBlerd on Twitter. An emerging film reviewer. You can read more of his reviews on the Black Siskel and Ebert.

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