I liked Harris and Mortensen here, but still am unsure why anyone would cast Zellweger or how any of the characters actions after they met her make sense.

Appaloosa demonstrates a better sense of history than Paul Thomas Anderson's hysterical There Will Be Blood. But Harris isn't a good enough director; he loses the mythical air that drives home a great Western's point.

They wasted the good things.

Man I was so pumped about this one. An Ed Harris Western with Viggo -- fuck, what happened. So boring. Such shitty dialogue. Such crappy editing. I couldn't even make it to the end of this movie. God it sucked.

Such fine actors wasted in this boring mish-mash of a movie. I'm a fan of slowly building tension in a movie, but this one had me nearly bored to tears.

"While he thankfully avoids the actor-filmmaker avenger fantasies of The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Harris doesn't have the genre chops to fill Appaloosa's empty spaces." - Fernando F. Croce

Renée Zellweger must be the most annoying woman on the planet. Next to Sarah Palin.

Ed Harris needs to stay in front of the camera. The three male leads were entertaining to some degree, but none of the characters had enough motivation or back-story to make any sense. The uncharacteristically bad Zellweger performance was cringe-inducing. Irons makes a good bad guy and the shootouts were well staged and believable...so points there. Where did the last 10 minutes come from? Completely did not fit the rest of the film.

Good movie until the chick shows up and Ed Harris starts acting like a giant wussy

Just feels underdeveloped in almost every respect. Mortensen is probably the movies highlight, and some of Harris' direction is slick, if not particuarly exciting. The main problem is the weak, shallow relationship development. Although the relationship between the Harris and Viggo is interesting, the film should hinge on it, but there's just not enough meaning or detail. Zellweger and her sucking on a lemon face is awful too.

One of the weirdest westerns I've ever seen. The story was fairly basic, the shoot-out scenes were okay, the romance sub-plot ... maybe it would have been okay without Renee. Ed Harris's character was the most bizarre off all. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to laugh at his personality / mannerisms or be concerned that he was becoming psychotic. And the third act seemed really short compared to the rest. Overall, okay, but I would recommend the "3:10 to Yuma" remake over this one.

Appaloosa had its problems, but it also had moments of real brilliance. The main story was entertaining enough, and if the majority, (or all of it, I wouldn't complain), of the romantic subplot was removed, I wouldn't have felt bored at all. As it is, I was bored, but only during small parts. The ending took a very different perspective that was jarring, and took something away from the rest of the film. I liked Appaloosa enough to give it a recommendation, especially for fans of Western films.

Harris' story has some substance, but his directing skills are severely lacking. He seems to have forgotten that nobody likes to see a pussy whipped protagonist, especially as a tough sheriff. Some solid acting from Mortensen and Irons is unfortunately squandered by the uncohesive script, but the finishing blow comes from a horribly miscast and underperforming Zellweger. Good duels, boring movie.