I was stressing about this one. I adore the original with John W, and I really didn't want the remake to mess that up.
Luckily the Coen brothers directed this, and they are geniuses. This movie was beautiful - literally and figuratively. The cinematography is stunning, and the shots were set up by someone who knew what they were doing.
The movie was grittier in terms of lighting and cleanliness and the villains' teeth. I like that - I like a gritty movie. The villains were perfectly cast, but then I thought they were perfect in the original. The acting is often better in this one. Glenn Ford was never my favorite as LaBeouf, but Matt Damon takes this character to a new place. As with many Coen brother characters, he's more of a buffoon here, which is fun. The same is true with Josh Brolin's Tom Chaney. The actors in this movie have so much fun with their voices it is a joy to watch.
There are the two main characters: Rooster and Mattie. Jeff Bridges is awesome. I don't think he tries to be John Wayne, which helps. Hailee Steinfeld is, I think, better than Kim Darby. Kim was excellent with the dialog, but more childish. Hailee seems like a more mature 14 year old, and she is just as good with the dialog, maybe better, than Kim.
The dialog - what to say? One thing that makes this movie better than the original, I believe, is that it has more of the Charles Portis dialog from the book. There is no describing it: very stylized, verbose, perfect. Please, please go watch this one.
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