The biggest western of the 2010s is a remake that completely surpasses the original

Very few remakes are able to stand up to the quality of their predecessors. Even less wind up is better than the original. When you get filmmakers like Joel and Ethan Cohen involved, however, miracles feel much more accessible. Given their history together, it should come as no surprise that they were able to influence the modern West back in 2010, creating a much better version of a John Wayne classic in the process.

True Gritstarry Jeff Bridges (in a role that should have won him back-to-back Oscars), Matt Damonand Hailee Steinfeld (in her first film), was a Western masterpiece when it was released almost 16 years ago. From the amazing performances turned by the all-star cast, to tit’s amazing cinematography from Roger Deakinsto the kind of hilarious yet gut-wrenching dialogue that only the Coen Brothers could write, True Grit it is a complete time machine. It stands easily as the best western movie of the last 15 yearsand may be counted among the greatest in the history of the species.

This ‘True Grit’ is better than the original

Based on the novel by Charles Portis, the original True Grit first hit theaters back in 1969 and was another hit for John Wayne. In fact, this is the film that won Wayne his only Academy Award for acting, although many have argued that it was one of those victories that was more about an entire body of work than just one performance. While Wayne’s performance as Rooster Cogburn may be considered one of his best performances, True Grit is ultimately forgotten in the grand scheme of his career, as well as in the Western genre landscape. It’s hard to watch the shows around Wayne – Glen Campbell especially disappointing – and the film lacks effective pacing The stage coach or The Seekers. It’s an average film at best, made memorable by Wayne’s involvement and the story itself, which can be attributed to the source material.

More than 40 years later, the Coen Brothers find a way to breathe new life into the story of Rooster Cogburnfinally giving the character the quality film he always deserved but never got. Bridges is amazing as the drunken Marshal, and he is able to play a pair of great actors in Damon and Steinfeld. Their electric dynamic painting the story in a completely different lightfocuses on the melancholy of the West, rather than the rough and tumble adventure seen in the original.

Of course, much of that melancholic tone can be attributed to the Coen Brothers, the filmmakers behind Fargo and No Country for Old Men. They have a special way of seeing the world that really suits the Western genre, capturing the sadness and despair that works alongside joy and humor. There’s a reason they’ve explored the genre in a number of different ways over the years, though it’s honestly a little surprising they haven’t made even more Westerns. Hopefully, Ballad of Buster Scruggs they will not be the last of them.

One Big Choice sets the ‘True Grit’ remake apart

Of the big choices the Coen Brothers made when they were changing True Gritnone of them was more influential than the conclusion Don’t make the movie about Rooster Cogburn. He is the main character in the story, and he is the person you see the most of in any version of the film, but he never had the story to tell. True Grit belongs to Mattie Ross (Steinfeld), and the remake never lost sight of that.

Now, putting this kind of serious exploration of grief and the fragility of life in the hands of an unknown 13-year-old is certainly a choice, but the Coens knew. just what they had in Hailee Steinfeld. She was more than up to the challenge, delivering one of the best young performances of the 21st century. She was nominated for an Oscar at just 14 for her turn as Mattie Ross, and she could easily have walked away the winner. When it comes to Western films made after the turn of the millennium, they don’t get much better than True Grit. Even if you’re not a fan of the original, there’s a good chance you’ll find a lot more to love in this amazing adaptation.