Directed by: George P. Cosmatos
Starring: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Powers Boothe, Dana Delany, Dana Wheeler Nicholson, Billy Bob Thornton, Jason Priestley
Tombstone is a movie that knows its purpose and what it wants to say. It fully espouses the need at times for necessary violence, especially when dealing with villains as cruel and vicious as The Cowboys. The Cowboys are led by Curly Bill Brocious (Boothe), who visits opium dens and murders the frontier town of Tombstone's sheriff in front of dozens of witnesses. The Cowboys are so feared that the charges don't stick, which enrages the town of Tombstone's newest residents, the Earps, led by the famed former lawman Wyatt (Russell).
The Earps wish to run the town's gambling hall and lay low, but find this is not possible with the bullying Cowboys around. Wyatt, along with his brothers Morgan (Paxton) and Virgil (Elliott), can not abide by the town's lawlessness and take on the Cowboys in a cold, bloody battle, starting with the famed gunfight at the OK Corral. Joining the Earps is longtime family friend Doc Holliday (Kilmer), who is dying from tuberculosis. This does not stop him from killing some Cowboys and taking on the group's most evil member Johnny Ringo (Biehn) in a one-on-one duel. His loyalty to Wyatt is what drives him to fight this battle despite his failing health. When asked why he is aiding Wyatt, Doc responds, "Because Wyatt Earp is my friend," His friend retorts, "I have lots of friends," Doc replies, "I don't."
What happens to The Cowboys is akin to a bug meeting a windshield. The Earps track and kill the group's members with ruthless efficiency. The only difference between the Earps and The Cowboys is what side of the law they're on. When Doc battles Ringo in their duel to the death, Doc throws down his deputy marshal's badge afterwards and says, "My hypocrisy only goes so far." The Earps and The Cowboys know one thing, which is violence, and they accept this as their nature. Tombstone makes no attempt to explain away or probe the consciences of these men in hopes of perhaps finding some remorse there. There is none to be had. The Earps realize early on the only way to fight this group is with their own bloody brand of justice.
The action defines the characters more than dialogue. But when the characters say something, it is important and almost poetic. The characters accept their natures and their purpose. Anything else is simply and pointlessly trying to ward off the inevitable. Tombstone makes no apologies about being what it is. Russell's Wyatt Earp is a steady instrument of violence. His depiction in this film is far from the heroic treatment he received in other films. This Earp tries to go the straight and narrow, but trouble flocks to him like seagulls to a stray piece of bread. He could not avoid a showdown even if he wanted to. Kilmer gives the best performance of his career as Holliday, an Oscar-nomination worthy performance that sadly did not result in one. He views the proceedings with bemusement and soon contempt for The Cowboys. His loyalty to Wyatt is the heart of the film, which doesn't pause often for reflection.
Rounding out the cast are steady veterans Elliott and Paxton, who fit into Westerns like a glove. Dana Delany is Josie, the love interest of the married Wyatt, whose wife is addicted to laudanum and out of it most of the time. Wyatt's moral compass with affairs of the heart are as muddled as his battle with The Cowboys. The movie understands and embraces the idea that in such lawless times, moral compasses do not always point in the right direction and sometimes are thrown out altogether. It does not take a hypocritical approach. Tombstone knows what it is and what it is not and makes no apologies for either.
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