Kevin does western

OPEN RANGE takes us back to the wild west of the late 1800s and stars Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall as Charley Waite and Boss Spearman, two cattle herders trying to mind their own business.

Unfortunately for the aging duo they’ve managed to tick off a few powerful locals who aren’t too happy with the herders grazing cattle on their land free of charge.

When you consider how annoyed some people get when your dog does its business on their front garden, you can imagine why a few hundred cattle could cause a rumpus or two.

One of Charley and Boss’s sidekicks, a monster of a man called Mose (Abraham Benrubi), heads to town one day to get a few supplies and ends up in jail after getting his head kicked in.

The town is being run by a rancher called Baxter (Michael Gambon), who also controls the local marshal.

He tells the lads to skip town or face the consequences.

Charley and Boss realise it wouldn’t make much of a film if they meekly skipped town so they decide to stay and fight.

This leads us on nicely to the obligatory big gunfight. Let’s face it, you just couldn’t have a decent western without one.

Open Range isn’t Kevin Costner’s worst effort, there’s too much competition for that, but at times it tries its best to take the honours.

A bit like life in the lonely west, there’s long spells when nothing happens. It really could have done with some tight editing.

Western, 15. 2/5