Hatfields & McCoys (2012)

Title: Hatfields & McCoys

Director: Kevin Reynolds

Starring: Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton, and Tom Berenger

Rated: Not Rated

Released: 2012

Personal Rating: 4.5/5

Oscars: N/A

Basic Plot: Anse Hatfield and Randall McCoy, close friends and comrades until near the end of the Civil War, return to their neighboring homes to increasing tensions, misunderstandings and resentments.


As a TV Movie
TV movies usually always turn out to be shit compared to theatrical movies. One of the exceptions is The Road to Perdition, which I swore was made for theaters. HBO making a good TV Movie, though, isn't hard to imagine. But the History channel making a good movie is like the History channel not making an Ancient Aliens series. Hatfields & McCoys has a very cinematic feel to it. Making me want to get this on blu-ray.

The Music
The music adds a very good feel to this movie. Makes the feeling of that long ago time period come back. Don't get me wrong, the acting and effects are good. But the music is a small part of this that adds a lot.

The Feud
I can't pinpoint the exact moment the feud begins. Of course at the beginning both are friends. And all of a sudden they hate each other. What makes the feud a little hard to follow is that there are so many characters. That could just be me not remembering characters names. Then I get names that some people would say are offensive. I call the one that gets hanged The Retard (in my defense, he is technically a retard or some lower IQ wise).

Final Thoughts
This movie is amazing. It made me cry at a few points and it takes quite a movie to do that. I'm not sure how historically correct this is (remember it is the History channel where there is Bigfoot and ancient aliens), but it is still a good film. I made up a drinking game (that I never actually did due to revrezner telling me I'd kill myself doing it) where you take a shot every time anyone shoots and kills another person (doesn't include the Civil War scenes).