10 Best Westerns of the Past 20 Years

With "True Grit" hitting theaters at the end of last year there were many movie reviewers claiming that it is the best Western since "Unforgiven". "True Grit" and "Unforgiven" are the only two Westerns in the last twenty years to be nominated for Academy Awards but many of these writers make it sound like there have been no good Westerns during that period of time and that just isn't the case. There have been many Westerns to celebrate in the past twenty years and these are the 10 best.

10) "Appaloosa"
"Appaloosa" was not a very action oriented Western but the strong performances from Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen made this film worth seeing.

9) "The Asassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Admittedly "The Assasination of Jesse James..." was a bit slow and the casting of Brad Pitt was clearly more about getting a name actor than casting a good Jesse James, but Casey Affleck's performance as the coward Robert Ford was a Oscar sleeper that just fell short of a nomination.

8) "Maverick"
"Maverick" has many great distinctions. It is the most humorous Western to make this list, it starred Mel Gibson back when everybody loved him, it used the original "Maverick" James Garner in a wonderful way and most importantly, "Maverick" was a movie adaptation of a television show and didn't completely suck.

7) "Serenity"
Joss Whedon's "Serenity" might be a stretch but the "Firefly"/"Serenity" franchise has always been a mixture of sci-fi and western elements. Honestly, "Serenity" is my favorite movie on this list but I'll deduct points for not being a solely western genre.

6) "Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada"
"Three Burials..." is another movie that might be a stretch to consider a Western but it certainly has some similar elements. For anybody that didn't watch many Tommy Lee Jones between "The Fugitive" and the recent "No Country for Old Men" then "Three Burials..." is a gem that should be visited.

5) "Unforgiven"
Any thing with the words "starring Clint Eastwood" or "directed by Clint Eastwood" is automatically overrated by the critics. "Unforgiven" was a good movie but not a great movie and certainly not worth an Academy Award nomination.

4) "3:10 to Yuma"
"3:10 to Yuma" starred two of today's best actors (Russell Crowe and Christian Bale) and both were on the top of their game. However, both were out performed by one of today's best young talents Ben Foster. If the more action oriented westerns were considered for Academy Awards like the non-action drama versions then Ben Foster should have seriously gotten consideration for a supporting actor nomination.

3) "Tombstone"
Nobody pulled off Wyatt Earp as good as Kurt Russell and the best Doc Holliday performance doesn't even deserve the a discussion. Val Kilmer's performance as Doc Holliday is seriously one of the best portrayals of a historical figure of all-time.

2) "True Grit"
Even though Russell and Kilmer are great in "Tombstone" it is still primarily a fun action movie and the story wasn't hard to write since it was just based on what actually happened. "True Grit" was full of great fantastic performances though, and the Coen Brothers wrote a great screenplay.

1) "The Good, the Bad and the Weird"
Choosing "The Good, The Bad and the Weird" may seem like a fan of foreign films either bragging about watching foreign movies or sticking my nose up at American films but that is not the case at all. Watching "The Good, the Bad and the Weird" was the most I've been entertained by a film for at least the last five years. If you like the dramatic acting then "True Grit" is your best choice. If you like gunfights, horses, cowboys, robberies and action (which most western fans do) then "The Good, the Bad and the Weird" is the best choice.