True Grit is a call back to the old wild west days. If that didn’t start some alarms ringing in your head, then you may want to rethink that. I’ve never been a wild west person, but maybe this film could get past that. Maybe it could show me what a true wild west film should be like! Let’s see…..

The film starts out with a verse of scripture (Which is a solid way to start the film!) and then we get some narration. It appears that Tom Chaney defeated Mattie’s father and now she plans to avenge him. She mentions that everyone gets what’s coming to them at some point or other, but she’s going to take him down personally. First she needs to hire a gunman and get some money. In one of the better (but sadder) parts of the film, she negotiates with Colonel Stonehill. I liked his courage and dedication to the finer arts of negotiating, but Mattie is the protagonist, so things may not go his way. I’d say that this is where the film started going downhill. Slowly at first, but then it took a very steep nosedive towards the end.

Mattie hired a Marshall named Cogburn. They set out alongside LeBoueuf. (Who can get violent, but towards the end you’re supposed to sympathize with him because he’s a “hero”) They set off on a long trek to take down Chaney, but can they possibly catch him? Only time will tell I’m afraid.

Mattie isn’t a very good protagonist. I never liked a film to have a kid (Or in this case, very early teen) as the main character. I just can’t take the character seriously and it’s not as much fun. She has her “epic” scene at the end, but while it may have been temporarily satisfying, she should have listened to her own words. “Everyone pays for their sins” She’s all right with a gun, but she does freeze up when the going gets tough.

LeBoueuf is a pretty bad character. His opening scene is just awful and his next scene just keeps him on a spiralling track into oblivion. No matter what scenes he would get after that, it would be too late. He also tends to get taken out of a fight when things get tough.

How about Cogburn? Well, he tends to get drunk a lot and while he was a decent main character for a while, his poor treatment of his horse instantly put him on my bad list. That was just unacceptable and these characters could definitely learn a thing or two about true heroes.

Aside from Stonehill, I can’t say that I liked any characters in this film. Add to that the plethora of animal violence scattered across the film and some pretty cringe worthy scenes, this is not a film that I recommend at all. The Christian messages through the film are nice, but since the main character ignores all of them, you start to think about what the moral is. If you are squeamish about violence, you should probably avoid this film and if you like horses, then you should Definitely avoid this film. Next time you want to see something about the Wild West, check out the two part time travel episode in Justice League Unlimited. That’s the Wild West done right.

Overall 2/10

Jack Reacher is another film in a new trend of mysterious agent films. You know the type, the main character used to be the best of the best, until he retired or disappeared. Now he’s back and ready to roll! (Bourne, MI4. If James Bond were actually “The best of the best” you could add him to the list as well) Jack Reacher is a pretty good film and while it is weaker than the previous two films mentioned, it can hold its own.

The plot is that this guy shoots some people (And pays the parking meter!) before getting caught. At least the police were pretty quick on the draw this time, but they were too late. The convict asks for Jack Reacher to come, but the Police can’t contact him. Helen is the convict’s defense lawyer and she’s determined to help him. One day Jack shows up and tries to show why he’s the best. Helen decides to team up with him and together they can prove the convi-(I might as well say who the suspected convict is) James Barr’s innocence or vice versa. Unfortunately, some villains want to stop them, and they have the muscle to make it happen!

From there, there is a lot of shooting and fight scenes as Jack solves the case. He’s pretty smart and also physically powerful. In the film he’s capable of taking on several opponents at once and according to his trash talking, he always wins. Jack’s a pretty good character for the most part. When he’s in agent mode, he gets the job done. That’s the important thing. He’s also a pretty skilled marksman and did I mention that he served in the Government?

Helen is the other protagonist. She’s an all right character, but she’s mostly just there to be there. She doesn’t really help all that much and she’s definitely not much of a fighter. Towards the end, she doesn’t do so well, but at least she kept her dignity.

James Barr and Sandy aren’t very good characters either. Barr let his primal urges to shoot things get the better of him and Sandy doesn’t make the right move on several occasions. Cash is a pretty good character and it was nice to have at least one other fighter for the heroes. He’s all right with a gun and he did some damage. Zec is one of the big villains, but he’s very generic and not interesting. Let’s just say that he’s not much of a fighter. We also have the cop, but…..he’s not very good either.

Jack Reacher is a good film and if you like the subgenre of agents who must save the day, I’m sure that you will enjoy it. The final scene for Reacher can make you take a step back, but remember, Reacher’s no hero. He says so himself after all. You may be able to guess some of the plot twists early on, but it’s a good, popcorn fun movie to watch. Maybe it’ll get a sequel at some point. Either way, I recommend this film.

Overall 7/10