True Grit is a remake of the classic 1969 Western which starred John Wayne and earned him his only Academy Award, this time it's Hallee Steinfeld as Matti Ross a 14 year old girl who seeks retribution for the death of her father, to do this though she will need help, so she hires a US Marshal Cogburn played by Jeff Bridges and along for the ride of his own will is Texas Ranger Labeef played by Matt Damon.
True Grit is a very enjoyable film, well directed by the Coen Brothers Joel and Ethan and nicely paced by their hand, Bridges and Steinfeld are amazing and it's their performances that help to carry the film however both Matt Damon and Josh Brolin are pretty weak but it's only a minor complaint.
One thing I must mention though is the beautiful cinematography work by Roger Deakins, in fact a lot of it reminded me of Dean Semler's work on Mad Max 2 and Dances with Wolves as there are many scenes of cold and darkness, vast landscapes and mountain ranges, even down to the forests in the background and the big buildings that feel very real and not the product of computer graphics, a job most well done indeed.
However as I said before, Damon and Brolin are the weak links as is the film's ending which drags on a little too long for my liking but considering both my enjoyment of the film and it's under 2 hours running time, these are only minor quibbles.
All in all, worth a look, 3 and a half out of 5.
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