Hostiles

HOSTILES (15)

D: Scott Cooper

Entertainment Studios/Waypoint/Le Grisbi/Bloom Media (Scott Cooper, Ken Lao & John Lesher)

US 2017

133 mins

Western

W: Scott Cooper & Donald E. Stewart

DP: Masanobu Takayanagi

Ed: Tom Cross

Mus: Max Richter

Christian Bale (Capt. Joseph J. Blocker), Rosamund Pike (Rosalee Quaid), Wes Studi (Chief Yellow Hawk), Jesse Plemons (Lt. Rudi Kidder), Adam Beach (Black Hawk)

Scott Cooper's moody western stars Christian Bale as a decorated army captain who reluctantly accept a military order to escort a Cheyenne chief from a New Mexico fort to his ancestral home in Montana, a route that takes them through hostile territory. On the journey, they meet a woman whose family were murdered by a vicious tribe of Comanches, who are still on the warpath and thirsty for blood.

Though the opening scene to this western adventure has you immediately on the edge of your seat, the rest of the opening and middle act are quite slow & a lot of the scenes become bogged down with expositional dialogue. However, the performances are all excellent and the conclusion is quite rewarding. The fine cinematography and music also deserve to be mentioned.

7/10