"Hell is coming" (Tombstone (DVD))

Member Name: Yermansays

Product:	Tombstone (DVD)
Date:	29/05/01 (245 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, Fantastic story, Great cast

Disadvantages: None

You’re in for a treat if you haven’t seen this. If you felt slightly deflated after watching Wild Wild West and vowed never to watch another Western again then salvation is at hand in the form of Tombstone.

Believe me this movie has it all, a cracking story, memorable scenes, a fantastic script and a cast straight out of the top drawer. Val Kilmer plays Doc Holliday. His friends call him Doc and his enemies call him Lunger (He’s dying from TB). Kilmer is absolutely brilliant. He has never been better and nothing he has made since even comes close to his portrayal of the Doc.

Kurt Russell takes the lead role as Wyatt Earp who along with his brothers Virgil (Sam Elliott) and Morgan (Bill Paxton) arrive in Tombstone to start a new life. Their lawman days are over and they wish to settle down with their respective partners and make as much money as possible (gambling is their preferred choice). From the moment they arrive in Tombstone, Earp sets about feathering the family nest. He asks a few questions about the various gaming houses and is told the “Oriental” is a slaughterhouse with no custom. He quickly finds out why. A bully who doesn’t know the meaning of fair play runs the gambling. The owner can’t get shot of him and Earp walks over to the table and says, “You’re sitting in my chair.” They exchange a few words and the scene culminates in Earp slapping the unfortunate three times and saying “You gonna do something or stand there and bleed.” Great stuff!

The main story concerns a group of renegade outlaws called “the Cowboys”. They number 100 and are a law onto themselves. Initially there is an uneasy truce between the Earp’s and the Outlaws, neither party wishing to antagonise the other but that doesn’t last for too long. Powers Boothe plays Curly Bill the leader of the group and Michael Biehn who plays Johnny Ringo, a killer with no soul who
is exceptionally fast on the trigger, ably supports him. There is a fantastic scene between him and Kilmer, which qualifies as a stand out moment and believe me there are plenty of them so I don’t feel too guilty revealing this to you. Ringo and the Doc share no love for each other and one of their early confrontations takes place in a saloon. After a bit of eye balling Ringo whips out (wait for it) his two pistols and proceeds to juggle them up, down and sideways. He finishes to a round of applause. Kilmer who is drinking from a small silver cup and sweating profusely, finishes his drink and proceeds to juggle the little cup every which way and ends up holstering the cup to cheers from everyone.

There is the hint of a love story (Don’t let that put you off.), brothers backing each other against their better judgement and a running war with the “Cowboys” which takes on different twists and turns. That’s as much as I’m going to tell about the story and in truth I have not really told you anything. As I’ve already said Val Kilmer’s performance is on a different planet and the movie deserves to be viewed for his performance alone. The supporting cast includes Charlton Heston, Billy Zane (Pre Titanic) and it was directed by George P. Cosmatos.

Prior to writing this, there has only been one opinion written about this movie. I was surprised given the amount of connoisseurs out there. A true movie lover will have his or her favourites and generally will not reject a movie because it falls into the wrong genre. Buy it or rent it on the basis of this opinion alone and then come back and tell me whatever you want. Go on, give it a go; you won’t be disappointed.

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