Non-John Wayne westerns are a rather new genre to me. Add in historical for taking place in 1892 and “Hostiles” is a film that is a first for me on multiple levels. Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) is Captain Joseph J. Blocker, a man whom is nearing retirement from the military and is ordered one last assignment that he really does not want to take in escorting Cheyanne Chief Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi) and his family back to his homeland in Montana to live out his final days. As they make their journey others join the group. One of these being Rosalie Quaid (Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl) who was compelling as a woman finding her own strength.
It was nice to see Rory Cochrane (Empire Records) on the screen again as Master Sgt. Thomas Metz, as well as North Texas natives John Benjamin Hickey (Transformers: Revenge of the fallen) and Jesse Plemons (Battleship), along with Stafford Douglas (Gold), Jonathan Majors, and Timothee Chalamet (the critically acclaimed “Call Me by Your Name”). This movie is also true to the time period and does feature some violence, but director Scott Cooper does not go overboard with gore keeping it just enough to make the point of death being involved.
There were some areas where it was a bit difficult to follow the different plotlines that were intertwining to the point where at times, I was not sure if certain characters were supposed to be mumbling or if facial hair was getting in the way. A few of the scenes while riding along the trail could have been trimmed down a bit, as I really felt the two hour and thirteen min run time.
“Hostiles” was a new experience for me, and I am glad I saw it. The acting is strong and hits all the right emotional notes, so I can recommend this to be seen either in second run at the dollar theater or as a watch at home film.