Protraph
Lack of good storyline.
SteinMo
What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.
Helloturia
I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.
Erica Derrick
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Florian Gabriel
I will start with the cast. The actors are persons that played in a lot of good films, their acting is, let's say, above average, yes I have to agree, but unfortunately, this is the only good thing that I see about this movie. Storyline, twist, soundtrack, film editing, whatever, they are all crap. I am sorry to say this, I am a huge western enthusiast, but this movie doesn't have anything to do about western movies. It is just a mix of thriller, drama and action Hollywood cliché, that me, for example, I am bored of and hate them so much that I had some strong nerves to watch it till the end. It simply does not meet any minimum requirement for me to rate it with a good mark, my final rating is 4.5, I gave it a 4 because a 5 would be too much for what it does. I do not want to say that it totally wasted my time, even if I strongly feel it did, however, if it was not for the western climate in the movie (which is very very poor), I would have gave it no more than 2 as a rating, I am very serious.I am not giving you any spoiler, so to conclude, I am saying this again: if you are like a big fan of an actor of the cast, or a fan of some crew members than go ahead, watch it, but if you are looking for a good western/action/drama/thriller/etc movie which has to meet some minimum requirements, I am kindly telling you DO NOT WATCH THIS !
Scott LeBrun
Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan play pursuer and the pursued in this intelligent, beautifully filmed, and provocative Western / revenge saga. Neeson is a former Confederate officer, Carver, who bears a grudge against solitary ex-Union captain, Gideon (Brosnan). In the company of four other men, Carver relentlessly tracks Gideon down. And he will do absolutely anything to get his man, revealing a hard edged and ruthless nature.As the story plays out, co-writer & director David Von Ancken departs from any sort of convention by going in a much more surreal direction. Therefore, this may not appeal to Western / action fans looking for a traditional revenge story. As the movie starts, we're not made aware of Carvers' and Gideons' shared past; we just know one wants the other dead, BAD. The characters aren't really fleshed out until the end. Although we can make a pretty good guess as to what happened between the two men, it's devastating once we finally see the flashback.Ones' sympathies may waver a bit while watching this. Counteracting the inherent need to root for a person who has been wronged is the fact that Carver is so cold blooded about his mission. This man will NOT be deterred. It's actually easier at the outset to be on Gideons' side, since we don't know the whole story. And the experiences of Gideon as he struggles to survive man and the environment make for some very compelling cinema.Brosnan gives Gideon some likability, while Neeson is commanding as his determined nemesis. The supporting cast reads like a Who's Who of character actor talent: Michael Wincott, Xander Berkeley, Ed Lauter, Tom Noonan, Kevin J. O'Connor, and Wes Studi. Anjelica Huston appears very late in the film as an enigmatic peddler.Everything is breathtakingly photographed by John Toll, and the pacing is deliberate but effective, steadily taking us through one episode at a time. "Seraphim Falls" engages the viewer every step of the way, including its striking and unusual ending.Eight out of 10.
FlashCallahan
five men have been tracking another across Nevada for more than two weeks. They shoot and wound him, but he gets away. They pursue, led by Darkman, who will pay them once he's captured. The hunted is Gideon, resourceful, skilled with a knife. Gideon's flight and Darkmans hunt require horses, water, and bullets. The course takes them past lone settlers, a wagon train, a rail crew, settlements, and an Indian philosopher. What is the reason for the hunt, what connects Gideon and Darkman, other than they are both ageing Irish action Icons?Brilliant from start to finish, Seraphim Falls has great acting from the two leads, and has some brilliant cinematography, which makes the film a little more intense.Aided by the wealth of additional characters, Berkeley as a railroad bigot, O' Conner as the family man, Noonan as a preacher, and finally Huston, who could be a devil incarnate, or some sort of reaper, as the two head toward purgatory.And this is why the film is interesting, are the two dead come the end? Have they died by the time they Meet Hustons character? And where do they vanish to, does one go to heaven, and the other to hell?Its visually brilliant, and although there is not a lot of action throughout, its taut and Von Acken has crafted a wonderful movie.
museumofdave
When I was in eighth grade, several of us got a 8mm camera and made a movie called "The Chase," which was mainly two of our friends in costume chasing one another around San Diego's Balboa Park. Seraphim Falls is a chase film, but it's filmed with beauty and precision in New Mexico, and thought the plot is equally simple, the character development and the allegorical overlay makes it, if perhaps a little long, a compelling old fashioned Western.Neeson and Brosnan, both Irish, play Civil War officers with bad blood between them, the reasons for which slowly unfold as one stalks the other--on the way, they encounter a railway being built, a religious cult plopped down in the desert, a lone native American in a top hat by an oasis--in other words, enough variety to keep the chase fascinating--and the music drives the plot along nicely, the grand sweep of the photography from mountain ranges to cracked desert floors a trip in itself. It's no masterpiece, but a solid, old-fashioned Western with a thematic update.