True Grit my opinion

[Chase]

Just returned from seeing the True Grit remake.  Have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to see that they did a respectable job
in making a western.  All the characters were good, especially Mattie Ross, StoneHill, and Lucky Ned Pepper, to name a few.  Jeff Bridges did a good job as Rooster C. but if you are expecting him as John Wayne, he was not.  Everything looked very period correct too which was nice.  Rooster carries an  1873 Winchester.  Was worth going.  

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Thanks for the opinion.  Our club is going to see it in a couple days.  You're the second "review" I've read, and you both said pretty much the same.

I'm excited about going!

[Cole Bluesteele]

SHB

Bet you like it.  I think it is better than the first one.  IMO it is much more believable than the first with a more accurate presentation of the time, equipment, clothing, etc. 

Cole

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Thanks, Cole!  I'm really lookin' forward to seeing it.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Cole, you said it - it was excellent!  I wrote my opinion on the post titled "True Grit INDY"

Well worth the time and effort!

[Texas Lawdog]

I still haven't seen it yet, I will probably go next week, while Moose is at school. I heard that the movie was shot on location in Granger, Texas, which is east of Austin.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

L.J.,  By all means, see it.

Now I'm just waiting for it to come out on BluRay, so I can play it on my new machine that Santa Billie got me for Christmas!

[Johnny McCrae]

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!)

Steel Horse, that's an excellent review and it expresses my sentiments exactly.

I took my 12 year old Grandson to see it with me. He is a Civil war buff and noticed Tom Chaney's Henry before I did.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Steel Horse, that's an excellent review and it expresses my sentiments exactly.

I took my 12 year old Grandson to see it with me. He is a Civil war buff and noticed Tom Chaney's Henry before I did.

Thanks for the kind words, John.

Sounds like you're raising him up right!

[yeti76620]

I took my 12 year old Grandson to see it with me. He is a Civil war buff and noticed Tom Chaney's Henry before I did.

I'm sure that "Sharp-Eyed" Grandson pointed out that the rope sling on Chaney's Henry wasn't very smart but then again neither was Chaney.   

Fine Looking Young Man.....He's A Shooter!   

Yeti76620

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Like John's Grandson, I think we all noticed the rope "sling."  A bad choice when trying to use it, but probably authentic because of it's availability.

[yeti76620]

Steel Horse Bailey Sir,

I would think that any "period reputed" Henry wielder as Tom Chaney was portrayed would sling some kind of scabbard or outright carry it in his hand(s) before hindering it near useless by wrapping Mexican Dope-Rope around the bbl & mag-tube?     

IMHO

Yeti76620

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Mr. Yeti - I would agree, Sir!  But NO movie gets it 100%, so what we have is a movie that is VERY authentic, especially compared to other Hollyweird offerings, and also VERY entertaining.

[Colt Fanning]

Howdy,
I was impressed by the reliability of the percussion revolver which was soaked in water while crossing a river and then
fired when pointed at Tom Chaney.  Also I was impressed with the toughness of the bad guy who didn't flinch when
shot with a Sharps and was able to hold his pose for thirty seconds until he fell off his horse.
Regards
Colt aka Preston (not Tom) Chaney

[River City John]

Steel Horse Bailey Sir,

I would think that any "period reputed" Henry wielder as Tom Chaney was portrayed would sling some kind of scabbard or outright carry it in his hand(s) before hindering it near useless by wrapping Mexican Dope-Rope around the bbl & mag-tube?      

IMHO

Yeti76620

I'm guessing that since he stole it off Mr. Ross after killing him, he had no scabbard to go with it, and taking on the run immediately into the Choctaw Nation, no opportunity to get one yet. Rope sling was just something to act as a temporary solution. Besides, as pointed out, Chaney seemed to not be the sharpest tool in the tool chest.

Loved the movie better than the original.
The only bit I missed was the scene where Wayne playing Rooster as so drunk that when he fell off his horse and couldn't get up, he pronounced "We'll camp here." But, it was replaced with an equally good scene.

RCJ

[Buck Stinson]

I went to see it just before Christmas.  Although I am a true John Wayne fan, I didn't go to this movie expecting to see a John Wayne remake.  Instead, I tried to go with an open mind and the "need" to see a new western on the big screen.  I am a hard core student of the "real" west and have been an avid collector of vintage cowboy gear and guns from the 1849 to 1900 period for almost 50 years.  Some of the gun leather from my collection is pictured in "PACKING IRON".  I know what was used, how it was used and when it arrived on the frontier.  For this reason, I am the worst western movie critic on the planet.  When I watch a new western for the first time, I'll do so with very low expectations.  I want a movie to reach out and grab me.  I want the scenery to be perfect and I want the acting and the story to make me feel like I was really there.  These are the things that entertain me, not how many rounds of blank ammunition they can use up or how many dead guys there are when the movie is over.  I don't always have to see the good guy live to the end of the movie and I sure as hell don't need all the cussing and sex.  There's enough of that garbage in EVERYTHING else we watch.   Now, after having said all that, I would like to add that I was very impressed with this movie; the acting, the story, the scenery, the gear and just about everything else.  It was a thousand times better than the remake of "3:10 to Yuma".  For me, the new "True Grit" was not the remaking of an old movie, but the re-telling of an old story.   I would watch it again in a heart beat.

[Koyote]

I went to see it just before Christmas.  Although I am a true John Wayne fan, I didn't go to this movie expecting to see a John Wayne remake.  Instead, I tried to go with an open mind and the "need" to see a new western on the big screen.  I am a hard core student of the "real" west and have been an avid collector of vintage cowboy gear and guns from the 1849 to 1900 period for almost 50 years.  Some of the gun leather from my collection is pictured in "PACKING IRON".  I know what was used, how it was used and when it arrived on the frontier.  For this reason, I am the worst western movie critic on the planet.  When I watch a new western for the first time, I'll do so with very low expectations.  I want a movie to reach out and grab me.  I want the scenery to be perfect and I want the acting and the story to make me feel like I was really there.  These are the things that entertain me, not how many rounds of blank ammunition they can use up or how many dead guys there are when the movie is over.  I don't always have to see the good guy live to the end of the movie and I sure as hell don't need all the cussing and sex.  There's enough of that garbage in EVERYTHING else we watch.   Now, after having said all that, I would like to add that I was very impressed with this movie; the acting, the story, the scenery, the gear and just about everything else.  It was a thousand times better than the remake of "3:10 to Yuma".  For me, the new "True Grit" was not the remaking of an old movie, but the re-telling of an old story.   I would watch it again in a heart beat.

Well put PARD;
KK

[River City John]

For those who have not seen it yet, notice the care and historical accuracy that went into choosing the 'personal possessions of the deceased' that are given Mattie that belonged to her father. This is the same scene where she retrieves the Colt Dragoon.

Especially our Masonic members.

RCJ

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Several of us noticed.

[Vernon/IN]

I'm guessing that since he stole it off Mr. Ross after killing him, he had no scabbard to go with it, and taking on the run immediately into the Choctaw Nation, no opportunity to get one yet. Rope sling was just something to act as a temporary solution. Besides, as pointed out, Chaney seemed to not be the sharpest tool in the tool chest.

Loved the movie better than the original.
The only bit I missed was the scene where Wayne playing Rooster as so drunk that when he fell off his horse and couldn't get up, he pronounced "We'll camp here." But, it was replaced with an equally good scene.

RCJ

RC,

Not to nitpick, but I believe the scene you mention was in the sequel.  I remember the scene, but it was in "Rooster Cogburn" with Katherine Hepburn (as Eula Goodnight) and Anthony Zerbe (as Breed).

Vernon