First off, let's get this straight: I did NOT want to see this movie. In fact, the only reason I saw it was because my family was going, and my uncle paid, so it was free, but just so you know, while standing in line I was secretly praying that this movie would be sold out and we would go see The Water Horse instead. But no, I ended up sitting down to this movie. And, wouldn't you know it, it was the best 2 hours I've spent at the movies this year.
The story is simple, and has been done before: a man comes across a botched deal, finds some money, takes it, and then gets hunted down by people who want it. Sound familiar? It should. But I'll be damned if the Cohen Bros. didn't dust off this old plot and turn it into one of the most riveting, suspenseful, and albeit great titles in recent memory.
Josh Brolin is our main good guy, here, who's only in this whole mess because he decided to do the right thing and try and save a guy's life. He's pretty much a badass, which is good, because the guy chasing him down for the money is also a badass. So it's kind of like Aliens v. Predator except with humans and a script.
Javier Bardem, as the psycho, is absolutely amazing. I'm an effects guy, personally. I don't care about acting. But this guy was good. Very good. Noticeably good. He plays this psycho badass guy who goes around killing people with a smile on his face. He uses a silenced shotgun and either blows them to bits or uses a can of compressed air to flush out their brains. Yet, at the same time, he's polite, he says 'please,' he's got a decent personality, and if he likes someone, he'll give them the option whether or not they want to live or die, depending on a coin toss. In short, despite the fact that Bardem plays one of the most monstrous bad guys ever in a movie, he's also, easily, the most genuine.
Tommy Lee Jones does nothing here, nor does his character. Seriously. He takes up time and adds star power. Woody Harrelson is also superfluous, but hell, the rest of the movie is so damn good that you really don't notice, nor care.
It's intense beyond words, including a long scene in a hotel room that will keep you on the edge of your seat or holding your breath. There is also quite a bit of humor to tone down the action and keep the pacing methodical yet engrossing. The southern, Texas dialogue is flawless, and at times, funny. The script is well-written, but no film, including this one is perfect... There are about 3 scenes in this movie that do nothing but bog it down. One is where Tommy Lee Jones, the sheriff who does absolutely nothing (and even ACKNWOLEDGES the fact that he does nothing) is talking to some old guy, and the old guy tells some five minute story, but we can't understand it because the speech is so slurred. This didn't need to be in the film, and while I understand it is an attempt to add depth, it also adds, uh, boringness.
The ending, that I won't spoil, I am sad to say created boos in the crowd. It's a shame to see such a great film nearly killed by one of the most abrupt, inconclusive, unsatisfying endings ever. The credits start rolling out of nowhere, and you think "What the HELL? It's over?!" It's that kind of feeling. It feels like it should have another half hour to tie up the loose ends. But it never does. And it ultimately damages what would've been a flawless movie.
No Country for Old Men, despite it's horrendous ending, is well directed, brilliantly acted, and overall just a great movie. In a year full of All-Hype-No-Payoff Movies like Spider-Man 3, Pirates 3, Shrek 3, and others, it's a sigh of relief to know that one of the best films of 2007 has come right in the nick of time.
Score: 8.5/10
