This is a post Civil War movie that highlights two men and the hatred that is enacted by the actions of war that grow from the obsession of righting a wrong into the breeding ground for revenge. An ex-Confederate Colonel Carver played by, Liam Neeson, is chasing an ex-Union Captain Gideon played by, Pierce Brosnan, in the hope of clearing his mind of the torment generated by the loss of his complete family at the hand and order of Gideon. Neither man is aware of the torment that is haunting the other about that particular day. Many things are done in war that drive men long after the war is over and this is the case with these two men.
The chase has continued for five years and Carver feels the closeness of the end but he wants to look into the eyes of the man that inflicted this terrible calamity on his life. The opening scene is on top of a mountain and Gideon is shot and would probably die but he is chased, so his survival instinct clicks on and the hunt begins with Carver and his posse of four bounty hunters are on the heals of the wounded Gideon.
The landscape is a major character in the beginning all the way to the end. Water, cold and snow is finally at the end of the chase is replaced by desert, heat and no water. The abundance of water can kill you and the lack of water will also kill you. The location is New Mexico one of the few places in the United States that you can get all of these combinations. The two characters in the beginning look similar in appearance from there use of clothing and in the end they look similar in appearance again with there lack of clothing.
This is an anti war movie that highlights mans inhumanity to man. The question is why can’t they let it go. The ravages of war on both men are struck on the chest of each man. The movie was very well done but it did not play well on the big screen and I missed it there. It is a very good western and I will have to decide if it will replace a movie I already have in my top one hundred best western movies.
