One of the best westerns. Beautifully shot. Clint Eastwood is just the perfect cowboy. Gene Hackman is fantastic too.

I saw this film when it came out in the theater but hadn't seen it since then. I gave it another look and it was just as good as I remember it, maybe better. I think it meant a little bit more now than it did then because I had become such a big fan of his work with Sergio Leone. In a sense he was putting that character to bed and he did so without glorifying him. I think those that criticized Eastwood's cold and emotionless portrayal of the main character missed the what Eastwood was going for. follow me at https://IHateBadMovies.com

Unforgiven could have been much better, but Clint Eastwood took some liberties that took away from what this film could have been. First, he cast himself as the lead. His acting is so unemotional and dry when he's showing his emotional depth that it completely took me out of the movie. Honestly, I kept laughing every time he had an emotional scene. Everyone else was really great, but he was the lead, so it had a pretty big effect on the movie. Second, his direction oozes cliches, not homages. His wide shots aren't beautiful, they are just wide. His choice is of lighting smacks you in the face with its evil vs evil theme. There's just no subtlety in any of his themes, which leads to my next point. The pacing of the first two acts is way off. We all know the third act is going to happen exactly as we think it will. So when it does, it's cathartic, and fun to watch. However, the hints about the third act stretch on for way too long in the first 2 thirds of the movie. The story is great, but Clint Eastwood's heavy-handed approach turns a great movie into a good one. 1 / 2 directing, technical aspect 2 / 2 story 1 / 1 acting 0 / 1 pacing 1 / 1 dialogue 1 / 1 living up to its genre 1 / 1 originality 0 / 1 lasting ability to make you think -1 / 0 miscellaneous +/- point (for Clint's acting) 6 / 10

"It don't seem real... how he ain't gonna never breathe again, ever... how he's dead. And the other one too. All on account of pulling a trigger." Unforgiven is the essential Clint Eastwood movie right? If you had to pick one it would be Unforgiven to describe his career. It is: A) a Western, B) he starred in it and C) he directed it. I think Clint Eastwood is one of the best Actor/Directors of all time. One that is great in either role and nothing is better then Clint Eastwood in a Western. Here in Unforgiven he is accompanied by legends Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman. 3 Iconic actors in one movie. We even get Richard Harris as English Bob! The movie is dark, never a bright moment in sight. The Whore-slashings are brutal. The way Little Bill (Hackman) runs his town alongside his crew is horrible. Unforgiven flows along beautifully, looks amazing and the story is very strong. The action is solid and I love the final 15 minutes. Never a dull moment and the action is top notch. Unforgiven is a movie you can't miss out on and a must watch for everyone here over at Trakt!

One of the greatest Westerns ever made? Certainly. Although the fact it's a western is really secondary. In truth it's a tale of the nature of evil and the nature of man. Eastwood uses the gap between the western myth and reality as an arena to play out his story and does so with consummate style.