Howdy, Pards! It was GREAT!
Jeff Bridges ISN'T John Wayne, but he did a great job. Personally, I liked the young girl who played Mattie better than Kim Darby. Matt Damon did a very good job in the role originally played by Glen Campbell. Josh Brolin was good as Tom Cheney, and Barry Pepper played his great uncle, "Lucky Ned Pepper," very well. (Actually, I have NO idea if they're related ... I doubt it, but it was fun to speculate ...)
Matter of fact, the ONLY disappointing role (a small one) was by the horsetrader. While he and Mattie squared off well in this re-make, NOBODY will beat Strother Martin!
They did a good job of staying close to the original movie, with many lines being exact, and authenticity was well-done. The Dragoon pistol carried by Mattie looked like it had real caps on the nipples. The ONLY weapon mistake was a nit-pick ... ALL the brass on the weapons was nicely polished! LOL! While I never caught Tom Cheney's Henry being loaded on-screen, at least it WAS a Henry (repro) NOT a "Hollyweird Henry" with a loading gate and an air gap between the barrel and magazine.
All in all, I give it an A+! As long as you the watcher can excuse the fact that it was NOT played by "the Duke," you will enjoy it, I'm sure! It was VERY
entertaining. (And that's the name of the game!)
... And my steak from Texas Roadhouse was excellent after the movie!
As usual, Your Mileage May Vary!
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