kosmasp
When you see the horrible opening sequence of the movie and you see the hate going around, you can't help wondering about the circle of violence. It creates new hate, new action and new fights amongst each other. It doesn't seem to stop. It's anything but black and white (no pun intended to any skin colors) but has quite some grey areas.You can see and you will be able to correctly guess the journey of Christian Bales story. His path, his way and how he perceives things. There is tension, which is obvious and from that tension a lot of interesting situation arise. Being able to do your duty, but also seeing a change in behavior. The movie has quite some brutal, explicit violence in it, but it also does a lot of things that may give you pause to think. It is not an easy movie to watch, not just because of that, but also because it is generally slow paced. This will not be everyones cup of tea ... actually with its raw and down and dirty nature it is anything but a cup of tea ...
dakjets
This is a very successful western movie. In addition to having all the elements that should be in place in such genre film, the film also deals with personal choices and personal development. Can enemies develop friendship? Can hatred become love? This movie has many layers, which makes you drag into the action. The gallery is deep and complex. This is primarily Christian Bales film. His portrayal and interpretation of the captain who must do tasks far beyond the concubine are both touching and moving. I've seen many movies with him and I think this is one of his strongest achievements ever. The rest of the actors are strong too, and together they form a winning and credible collection of characters that lifts this movie for something extra. It deserves a big crowd and you do not have to be a big fan of the western genre, to like this movie.
beorhhouse
Dances With Wolves, Hostiles, Woman Walks Ahead, and Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, and this film should all be viewed in order to get a fairly well-rounded picture of what actually happened in the late 19th Century with the removal of the Indians from their homelands. This one stands out as the best of all four because of the brutal honesty and the in-depth study of the main characters. With Dances With Wolves, many of us are tempted to utterly hate the U.S. Army and see them as evil paper-doll cutouts worthy only of burning, but the soldiers in this film are real people. They explain why they had to be brutal. Now we all know that war is wrong for any reason, and that there is always a better way to go about doing business with people perceived to be the enemy. However, once in the middle of it, what does one do when he witnesses firsthand a violent tribe of aboriginals doing everything they can to protect their homeland, which includes killing him and his fellow soldiers? He has no choice at that point other than to become just as violent. Well, maybe he does have a choice. Dances With Wolves (the Costner character) becomes an Indian. That is a possibility, but during this era one would have had to go deep into Canada to maintain the lifestyle. In any case, the soldiers in this film were burdened by what they had been told to do by the U.S. Gov't. There is one beautiful scene which fully supports the idea that God is still in control, and the person speaking the truth becomes the light for the whole film, the whole story.
gailcaldwell
I was shocked at how good this turned out to be. I mean we figured this was going to be a pretty good "era" movie , old western as it were that Christian Bale does so well, but this truly turned out to be one of the best that he has done in awhile . And Rosamund Pike (from Gone Girl) was OUTSTANDING in this. Her partrayal of a wife and mother whose entire family is slaughtered by a band of rogue Cheyenne Indians is chilling. Her performance throughout is just impressive.
It is a moderately paced western that keeps the story steady and the characters in check so you aren't lost which is a VERY welcome trait in my book because so many lately are doing the opposite. Trying to add too many characters to the story and in the process you lose track of the story line. THIS DOES NOT DO THAT.
Bale keeps things moving and you know where your story is headed at all times.
Wes Studi as the Indian Chief is amazing. He has played this role in many other movies and he does it with mastery. Adam Beach is the same. He doesn't say much but doesn't have to, he is excellent in his roll as supporting.The ending is a little surprising and yet sad and then finally good. All in all it is an enjoyable way to spend 2hrs of time.
AD
