Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is a modern-day western which shocks the viewer with its heady doses of on screen violence and enthrals the audience with a simple, effective plot line. Essentially, the story involves three brothers and the lawman trying to bring them to justice; it sounds straightforward on the page, but Nick Cave's screenplay works hard to establish characters and the result is a film with fully three-dimensional people. It's hard to find anything to criticise about this production; everything, from the technical qualities to the acting, ranges from the above-average to the excellent. There's a truly haunting soundtrack which accompanies the excellent cinematography, showing the harshness of the Australian outback, and the eerie, desolate atmosphere is second to none.The violence in the film is brutal and shocking, coming in short, unexpected bursts. It's also original, with little in the way of stand-offs and shoot-outs. This is a film where people are painted in shades of grey and everybody has to face the repercussions of their own actions. Ray Winstone gives the standout performance as the violent lawman who kicks the plot off; he seems to be a villain, but the film soon reveals his humanity as well, and he steals every scene with his powerful performance that's full of emotion. Guy Pearce is the nominal hero, and he's far from attractive: lean, almost half-hearted, and hairy and dirty, his is the iconic man-with-no-name type role. The movie has fun showing his character, keeping the audience guessing as to his true intentions, and his actions at the end are great – this film ends on a real high with a fitting climax that just works and works. Emily Watson is also very good and moving as Winstone's put-upon wife.Of the rest of the supporting players, Danny Huston excels in his small role as the violent elder brother; John Hurt has fun hamming it up in a cameo appearance as a bounty hunter, and David Wenham plays snivelling evil as a moustachioed pencil-pusher. Essentially this film stands as a series of iconic images and set-pieces, some of which are burnt into my mind even now: the aborigine's head exploding against the skyline, the brutality of the climax; the whipping scene, which is much less gory but somehow makes more of an impact than the one in THE PASSION OF THE Christ. Altogether this is a stylish, excellently-made modern-day western with plenty of reasons to be watched.

While this film is nothing extraordinary, Ms. Emily Watson certainly is and she is absolutely brilliant in what easily could have been a throwaway role. It was a fantastically imaginative casting choice by the director to choose Watson as what he probably wished would be more than the typical "frontier wife." He got much, much more as Emily Watson gives a performance of subtle sexuality, passion, and courage. In doing so, she does what she usually does and makes this film her own. It takes tremendous talent and incredible power for her to step forth from this group of male actors and in beautiful fashion demonstrate her exceptionality as an artist. She breathes life into what could have been a stale stereotype and sets fire to the screen in several stupendous scenes. The only problem is she is underused and the camera spends too little time on her glowing face and blinding cinematic presence. However, what she does with the camera time she is given is miraculous and for that reason this film is a 10. Watson is indeed the most powerfully talented and divinely gifted actor working in cinema today and she continues to astonish audiences with each succeeding performance in a way that no other actor can touch.

I think the main downfall of this movie is that the entire plot is revealed in the first five minutes of it (as well as the plot synopsis). John Hillcoat also directed "Lawless" which was a pretty good movie but since it was based on real events it doesn't matter if it was predictable. This wasn't allowed the same graces. Danny Huston's voice was really the only reason I kept watching it. Guy Pierce was decent, Richard Wilson was awful snivelly, and Ray Winstone was not very threatening, though I did appreciate him standing up for Mike. The other main villain (whose character name I don't remember) was too demented and I really felt sorry for him rather than disliking him. This didn't bring anything to the "aus-western" genre except for the whole "which brother is more important" thing.I think the best way for this to be better would be to reveal the proposition at the very end instead of right away. It wouldn't be a twist ending as much as something worth waiting for.

a western. good, impressive, touching. for its simplicity. no heroes. just few brothers, a woman, her husband, shadow of a murder, a form of justice. nothing more. a story without great surprises. but this is explanation for its importance. and for the science of director to give essential pieces of a world.a film about common sense. and its forms. about need of normal life and basic gestures. about errors, sacrifices and expectations. nothing new. or more old. only show of a fight. an interior fight. and a gesture who is more than reflection of a proposition. a dusty town, pieces of a murder, a proposition and a gesture. that is all.