In what is one of the best westerns in a long time, and also one of the best movies of the year, True Grit is a masterful remake of the 1969 classic that starred the Academy-Award winning John Wayne. Written, produced and directed by the Coen Brothers, True Grit stars Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin, as well as newcomer Haillie Steinfield.
It’s usually very hard to redo or remake a movie, especially if it’s a good movie. It seems though that True Grit has done it effortlessly. Jeff Bridges takes over the role as the aging, fat, one-eyed and mean Marshall Reuben ‘Rooster’ Cogburn. And, I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but I think that Bridges arguably and surprisingly did a better job than the Duke. In addition, I was also pleasantly surprised by Damon’s performance. Originally, I simply could not imagine him as a cowboy, but again he is much more convincing as the Texas Ranger then Glen Campbell was. The then 13-year old Steinfield was also slightly more convincing then the then 21-year old Kim Darby.
True Grit is a good old fashioned western. What I was scared about at first was it would try to do its own thing, letting the action overwhelm it like today’s action movies. Written out very well, and acted splendidly, the movies of 2010 ends strong with True Grit.
The two other major westerns of the decade so far, Open Range and 3:10 to Yuma were both not as good as this. True Grit wasn’t as clichéd or overused as Open Range was and also not as a shoot em up type western as 3:10 to Yuma was.
Also, this version stays a little more true to true to the book then the older one did. I was also pleased to see that Bridges didn’t try to copy Wayne, but rather acted out what he thought Cogburn would have been like. A superb western, True Grit was one of the best westerns in a long, long time.
Grade: A
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