LogFAQs > #957405591

CoolCly: I made a big mistake watching the original True Grit. I accidentally started watching this version instead and got to when they ford the river. I thought the original was good and deserves a lot of credit, but it was tough to see it with fresh eyes when I felt like Id watched better versions of those scenes in the remake!

It would be alright. The undertaker is pretty memorable, a good extension of a pretty normal line from the original.

Hailee Steinfeld is purposeful and mesmerizing as Mattie. The original Mattie demonstrated true grit and did a really good job, especially for the era it was filmed in and how women were normally portrayed, but Steinfeld really took this to a higher level. The scene where she negotiates over the horses demonstrates this excellently. Matties sharp wit is on full display, as well her stubbornness that leads her into saying too much at times.

Rooster and the Texan Ranger constantly being at odds, so late in the movie, felt a bit too repetitive. But an improvement over the original is Mattie and the ranger mending their relationship and gaining respect for eachother before the final encounter.

Im not sure if I like John Wayne or Jeff Bridges better as Rooster. They are both very good, though Bridges I think benefits from just better modern film making around him.

Tom Chaney and the gang of bad guys were nice for the brief moment they were on screen.

I liked the hectinc ness of the original a bit better in how Mattie ended up in the cave and the snakes, and Rooster and the rangers parts in rescuing her. The ranger pulling through to save them but then dying was a poignant moment. It seems they just wanted him to survive in the remake to make this feel better, but it just makes it feel less.

I strongly disliked the change to the ending I really liked in the original how Rooster visited the farm and Mattie pushes to recognize him as family, and he genuinely accepts. I also think it harms the movie to replace Mattie with this older woman who I dont really feel captured the fire of Mattie at all.

Overall, I respect the original, but I like the remake better for Hailee Steinfelds stellar performance its just a straight up improvement. Its a shame that I feel like they fumbled the ending compared to the original so badly

8/10

KBM: See, these are the kinds of movies that should be remade. The original was a middling movie at best, with an okay story, indifferent acting, and a straightforward, old-timey Western tone. But put the Coen Bros in charge, with their razor-sharp sense of off-kilter humor, and better actors all around in the lead roles, and suddenly you turn something merely decent into a minor Revisionist classic. Hailee Steinfeld in particular shines in her breakout role, but Bridges and Damon are both far better actors than John Wayne or Glen Campbell, with Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper also giving great performances. It's doubly amazing because of how many scenes are taken more or less directly from the previous film, and yet with those alterations in tone and performance, it all just plays so much better humorous and self-aware when it needs to be, but still with a surprising amount of dramatic oomph in its third act. I will say that one of my favorite scenes in this version, though, is one that was nowhere to be found in the previous iteration: the scene with the man in the bear suit is one of my favorite all-time moments of oddball Coen Bros humor. Something about the way Jeff Bridges delivers You are not LaBeouf after that loooong buildup just gets me every goddamn time.

Poke: This I saw before the original and maybe just because of some updated pacing and the more familiar modern actors I like; I prefer this to the original. Both are great though.

Johnbobb: So I was a little disappointed to the remake bring back some of the original's weaker moments (like LaBeef being an abusive creep toward Mattie) but pretty much every other aspect of the film was improved. Much better performances, much better directing and cinematography, and better characterization of pretty much every character. It turned what was a mid-tier film by Western standards and made into something really solid.

Karo: Remember that old western? Well here it is remade almost scene for scene and sometimes even line for line, much like those soulless live action disney remakes. Though this movie isn't THAT bad, it still begs the question of why the hell did it need to exist when all it does is slap a new coat of paint on a classic and make it considerably less fun.
The humorous lines from the original seem weird and out of place in this new movie and its hyper serious tone, but that doesn't stop the characters from reciting them verbatim regardless of how awkward it is in the new scene.
The soundtrack consists of mainly just playing the same public domain church hymn over and over again at different speeds. So yeah, I hope you really like 'everlasting arms' because you are going to be hearing it a LOT.
As far as I am concerned there is only one True Grit and it isnt this one. This is Fake Grit. This is Ditto with imposter Grit. If you are going to adapt an old movie, fucking adapt it. Dont just shove it into a new mold that it doesnt really fit.

Inviso: Ive been trying not to compare movies in these write-ups, for spoiler reasons, and even in the two trilogies Ive watched, Ive managed to keep write-ups separate. But in this one, its literally a remake of a movie on this list, and the remake is MUCH better in my opinion. For starters, the main character feels less like an obnoxious brat, and more like a young teen whos in way over her head, but still has a basic understanding of how the law works. Her robotic personality at times goes a long way in terms of carrying the movie, because shes amusing in how much more seriously shes taking things compared to Rooster and LeBeoufs pissing contest. The plot is mostly the same, but it feels a lot tighter. We dont need to see the whole scene with her father getting killed. Thats a time when telling, rather than showing allows the plot to kick off faster. Really though, I think its just a solid film overall. Not spectacular, because its still a bit slow at times. But its good enough, and even the ending feels more satisfying because its bittersweet, rather than nothingness.
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Bear Bro
The Empire of Silence