Ed Harris was absolutely born to do westerns. In this case, Harris not only stars in the film as the gritty, weathered gunman turned Marshall, but he also directed, co-wrote, and produced it. Look out Clint Eastwood, a new Sheriff is in town. Along side our hardened hero is his deputy, naturally, and Viggo Mortensen depicts the loyal role, well, naturally and perfectly, bringing to life a deep character and making a great Marshall-Deputy team instrumental to any great western. Renee Zellweger plays Allie, a widow who just can't seem to get enough, uh, attention and Jeremy Irons creates our sophisticated villain as only Irons can.

When the town of Appaloosa is being overrun by outlaws and cowboys, the town officials hire specialized gunman Virgil Cole (Harris) to clean up the town and restore order to it. Mr. Cole's rules are simple. Obey the law or be shot. Disarm or we will disarm you. The first day on the job, the Marshall and Everett Hitch (Mortensen) get rid of some cowboys belonging to the loyal band of Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons) who murdered the last town Marshall. Determined to bring Bragg to justice, Virgil sequesters a witness, arrests Bragg, and a trial is arranged. Enter more hired guns, a wrench in the Marshall's plans, and a trek across the west that ultimately leads to a deadly stand-off.

The movie opens with a bang, follows with a long plot involving lots of characters, and them some more plot, and ends with a bang. Although it seems to drag a bit in the middle (it could have ended several times where it merely paused), Appaloosa will entertain western fans. The elements of any good western are present in this flick: shoot-em-up action, the villain and his gang, a trial, whiskey, pianos, double-crossing, and of course the woman who complicates the entire operation. Overall impression: obey the law and go see this movie.

Watch the trailer here: