Unforgiven (1992)

Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood

I've both seen Unforgiven many years ago and since become a very big fan of Eastwood's films. That having been said, that all came with his more recent films and I had little to no recollection of Unforgiven.

All I did remember was that I enjoyed it... I did not, however, remember loving it. Upon further review, I absolutely loved... the end of this movie. It was the some of the brilliant, suspenseful and thrilling twenty minutes I've seen in recent memory. The majority of the film was very good at best.

Elsewhere in the film, the performances were great, the scenery... you're typical western, and the story compelling despite the fact that it was pretty much the same as so many other westerns.
-Will Munny has a haunted violent past that he must face when he needs money. He teams up with people with different agendas and ends in a climactic showdown.

What makes Unforgiven interesting and what separates it is the way it plays off this typical western. It recognizes that it has all the components of the genre and points them out. This was clearly the intention and it was done very well.

As much as I want to fall head over heels in love with this movie, I can't say that I did. I feel like I do have a fonder appreciation now than I did the first time I saw it so at the very least, I'm glad I saw it again.

***1/2