Better than the J. Wayne version and far more true to the original story.
Story: 8
Script: 9
Performances: 9
Misc.: 6...too much leaning on everlasting arms, and I would've liked a scene or two more with Brolin and Pepper, and no scenes at all with the animal sound fella
Influence: 8
Overall: 8
Characters with highly detailed personalities get their grit tested in vast treeless terrains of the classic western in Coen brothers' reinvigoration of the forgotten genre. Sharp dialogue and sharper performance by the three leads, especially young Hailee Steinfeld take your senses hostage. Add in beautiful shots and occasional lore and we got ourselves a cruelly captivating western.
Really good western with great performances espically Haliee Steinfeld, really good dialogue as well as directing.
The way the story unfolds in the end it's pretty avarage, and not touching at all.
However, when you come to think about Mattie passing away and never seeing Rooster again it's kind of sad. And when you think that her revenge meant almost nothing, to her losing her hand, little Blackie and never seeing Rooster or LaBeouf.
It's a good movie after all, but I tough it would be epic or memorable.
Absolutely brilliant!
This is quite a good day-in-the-life-of-a-bountyhunter western. It has mostly everything a western needs: an unsympathetic drunk with a good heart, sweeping shots of the prairie, slow buildup, some character development and the same morality most westerns do (an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind). Nice extra's are that a little girl turns bountyhunter, there are quite some funny moments, Bridges and Damon live up to their reputation and whenever there is some action, it's good.
Personally I thought there was too little action (at times I thought Bridges would never stop talking) and I thought it looked too polished and clean for a western. This film didn't make a lasting impression like for example Unforgiven. Then again; there isn't much competition for westerns these days, so I'm just glad to see a decent modern-day western!
Don't forget to watch the original with The DUKE! (John Wayne)
It’s tough for me to say why I like this movie so much. It’s not Steinfeld, who’s just a bit on the too-precocious-to-be-cute side. And it’s not Bridges, who’s a bit too much on the too-mumbly-for-hghis-own-glerg side. It’s just really enjoyable, with a lot of trademark Coen brothers wit, and I could watch Roger Deakins shoot the Old West all day.
This is a true cinematic accomplishment. Going in, I didn't realize that the Coen Brothers were responsible for having written and directed this version of True Grit, and I was mightily impressed by their vision, yet adherence to the original story. The acting in this film is incredible. Ms. Steinfeld's portrayal of Mattie Ross will go down as one of the finest performances of all-time, and it cemented her position as one of, if not the, best young actors ever. She gave a remarkable performance that is not to be missed, and her relationship w/ Mr. Bridges' character, Rooster Cogburn, is the highlight of this film. It's a shame that Ms. Steinfeld wasn't nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, only for Best Supporting Actress. She most assuredly deserved the former nomination. I will say that I'm not a fan of the Western genre, but regardless, this film is so enthralling and mesmerizing b/c of the cast, true-to-life accuracy of the dialogue, and development of the character's arcs, it should appeal to anyone who is a fan of great cinema.
Good movie, I can't figure out why the writer had all the actors say they're lines without using contractions, it makes them sound unnatural, but other than that, very good acting.
A grittier version than the 1969 John Wayne vehicle. After a back-to-back watch of both films this Cohen brother's version is the one I prefer. There is little that is changed between the two films, but the few differences do result in changes to the films overall 'feel'.
Bittersweet western fairytale. It never feels like much beyond an exercise in style, but its presentation is undeniably excellent. I can’t make comparisons with the novel or John Wayne’s film, but I guess the aim was to preserve the tone of classic westerns and keep the offbeat humor subtle.
Almost as good as the original.
I watched the original with J. Wayne and wondered in delight how the remake might be. I enjoyed them cutting right to the chase in the opening scene and I enjoyed that Mattie looked like a fourteen year-old. Like all Hollywood movies, I was sad to see that not a lot of permanence took place. LaBoeuf should have died from the head wound, and Mattie should have broken her arm during the snake scene. Having those things take place would have made more enjoyable for me. Rooster was just a drunk, I didn't see him demonstrate any grit? Was it in fact Mattie's grit that this movie is about?
Despite the good acting and direction, you don’t get very invested with the characters, which is what such a story is basically begging for. Pretty good nonetheless.
The Coen brothers bring a bold new vision to the classic western True Grit. The story follows a young girl who hires a U.S. marshal to track down a fugitive named Tom Chaney who murdered her father in cold blood. The writing is phenomenal, particularly the dialog; which has a typical Coen brothers flare to it. Jeff Bridges gives an outstanding performance as U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn; creating a remarkably compelling and charismatic character. And, supporting cast members Hailee Steinfeld and Matt Damon also give strong performances. Additionally, the directing does an impressive job at giving an authentic look and feel for the Old West. Brilliantly crafted, True Grit is a thrilling film with an extraordinary tale of valor.
"I'm a foolish old man who's been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpie in trousers and a nincompoop."
This movie never even crossed my radar back in the day because my group of friends said it was boring. Now I wish I had seen it back then because it is great. The script itself seems pretty articulate and it was a pleasure listening to everyone talk in this film.
It was really, really, really dumb that they couldn't even double check if Chaney, the guy they came all that way to kill, had died or not. Mattie wouldn't have lost her arm if they did. Chaney's last minute attempt to fight back was just as cliched as the last minute saving by LaBeauf was.
Also, when they were questioning those two guys, it was really out of character for Cogburn to act so slowly by letting the guy chop his friend's fingers off AND stab him. The moment he threatened to kill his friend, Cogburn should've pulled out the gun and said "let your friend speak."
Basically an excuse for the Coen brothers to write witty dialog for 90 minutes while following a very straightforward, simple plot, which is just fine by me. Mattie Ross might be one of my favorite characters in film over the last few years, and considering she was sharing screen time with either Jeff Bridges or Matt Damon, two of my current favorite actors, pretty much from start to finish, that's really saying something. She's always got the right words for the situation, spoken in a way that's always fresh and comically creative.
Despite a few chaotic, breakneck action sequences that seemed to drop in from nowhere and the requisite amount of bizarre, "wtf is this guy" oddball Coen extras, this never had trouble keeping me fascinated. Bridges is terrific in the grizzled John Wayne role. The final scenes are a bit anticlimactic, but in a way that's even more fitting than any tearful reunion could've been.
One of the better modern day westerns. With the Coen brothers' dialogue, Roger Deakins' cinematography, Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld's performances, this is a winner.
This is what a remake should be.
The story was well presented, the action scenes were a lot of fun, and the acting was great.
Jeff Bridges performance was superb, he is such a great actor, I think he should do more westerns, these roles fit him very good.
Only a couple of things I would like to point out, I think I'm not giving any spoilers here, but there's a moment in the film where the protagonists talk about going into indian territory to capture a certain individual, although, after that, we see very few Indians, I think the Native American people should have been more represented in the film, I know that that wasn't part of the story, but they could have been more original and added more plot.
Also, I think the last 10 minutes of the film were unnecessary, or at least, they should have closed the curtain in a different way.
But those two things just end up being my preference, and don't affect the quality of the film at all.
All this to tell you that, overall, I really liked this film, and I think you should watch It.
I think that one of the reviews that I read properly summed up this film: it just feels right. The movie really is a fine blend of tremendous acting, great dialogue and precise directing. I loved every second of this film.
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Best movie ever
I didn't realize that the girl was Hailee until now lol
Well, what should I say? It's a long winded story and neither really funny nor compelling. Even the decent to good acting doesn't make it much better. I would not watch it for a second time...
I LOVED this version as much as the original!
This movie unwatched so long in my library, and True Grit has really good ratings so I give it a try.
Even if i don't like Western movies. And I really, really don't like Western.
The plot:
The father of a very young girl got killed. She wants revenge and is hiring two wild-west guys to capture/kill him and she joins them on their hunt, which the guys don't like at the beginning.
Let's start with the actors: all great! All of them. Even if I am not that big fan of Matt Damon i have to admit that this movie might be the best actor-performance he ever did. The only problem I had with Jeff Bridges. As English is not my mother tongue it was hard to understand what he was saying. It was more than mumbling rather than talking .-/ So maybe you want to turn subtitles on.
The pictures were great. Honestly - wonderful. Open wide areas put you in the atmosphere that you are really in the Wild, wild west :)
Also the story is good. But it is still a western - movie. So all the time I feel like: "Oh I should like that." ... but I did not. Maybe I am more the Star Trek guy, or just a guy who doesn't like western.
So if you feel the same: you can watch it. But put your preferred Smartphone or Tablet device next to you when watching this movie so you don't get bored.
Genre : action. Lol ^^
Excellent movie. And I'm no fan of Westerns, so that's saying a lot. :)
Shout by whitsbrainVIP 5BlockedParent2022-01-15T16:10:11Z
Another entertaining and engaging adventure from the Coen Brothers. The acting is top notch and everything looks dusty and dirty, even the actors teeth look like Hell.
I really liked the dialogue. The smart folks clearly called the shots and I think it communicated the kind of manipulation and advantage those who were educated had over others. I don't know if any of that was the intent of the Coens, but I really got a strong sense of just how wild things were back then and the order slowly being implemented by the Law, and for that matter, private businesses.
This is a traditional Western, but Westerns have always seemed much too similar to me and I think that's what keeps me from really liking "True Grit". It is a fine film, but I'm just not really interested in the subject that much. The relationship between Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and Maddie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) is the best thing about this. Jeff Bridges is awesome and he is no doubt one of the finest actors working today.