MOVIE REVIEW- HOSTILES

Hostiles- ** stars ( out of four)

One doesn't find a good, old-fashioned Western out in the movies anymore. So I was excited to see the new film, Hostiles, last night at King of Prussia.

Hostiles stars Christian Beal as Capt. Blocker, a lifelong soldier based in circa 1890 fort in New Mexico. Blocker has been thru hell during his military service, mostly fighting Indians He hates them, and has become a bitter, angry guy. He is given one of his final duties before he retires. He is assigned to escort a dying Indian chief named Yellow Hawk and his family  back to his homeland in Montana to die.

While this is going on, a rancher and almost all of his family are massacred on the frontier by a renegade band of Comanche braves. Children and the infant are murdered while the mother hides in the nearby woods and escapes. Along the way to Montana, Blockner comes upon the burned settlement and rescues the grieving woman, who is still holding her wrapped-up dead baby.

It is graphic, violent stuff, right form the start. The entire movie is somber and grim, with no let-up. It's realistic in many ways- dialogue, costumes, etc...The scenery and photography are gorgeous.

Bale is really good as Blocker. So is the rest of the cast, including the beautiful, British,Meryle Streep -lookalike Rosamund Pike.

It's too long- 135 minutes to be exact. The movie drags in the middle. It seems all the action there is during one segment is riding and camping, riding and camping. But it does hold one's interest, as I was waiting to see what would happen to this traveling band of soldiers, convicts and Native Americans.

Speaking of which, the parts of the Native Americans is underwritten, but I got it, all about the discrimination and their plight.It's a good character study on all accounts, especially the conflicting emotions of Beal's character.

Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie  a 72% rating. I liked the film more than my girlfriend did. I agreed with her that all the death and killing that goes on thru-out the movie is a turn-off. By the end, you begged for some laughter, a smile. This movie is compelling but not much fun.

The ending is a surprise and has a twist. Even though I liked the gritty film, how can I recommend it? To whom? Not for kids. Not for a good time at the movies. Only if your'e looking for a gripping drama would I advise you to see Hostiles.

The performances are fine. The movie won't win any major awards and will move swiftly to cable and DVD status. I don't think Hostiles will do well at the Box Office, as word of mouth won't take this film very far.

The theater I saw Hostiles at in King of Prussia was not half-full, with few young people and more mature, older faces in the spare crowd. That's my assessment of Hostiles. There will be some interest in a long Western, ala The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. But generally, Hostiles will play out and fade away but will be hard to forget.