Unforgiven

A delight for all fans of western. An original story, a nice atmosphere and, in particular, excellent performances that result in a strong and rather unorthodox western in which man-to-man fights or insanely tough heroes are neither the main purpose nor the attraction. It relies mostly on the characters and their relationships, which of course is not everyone's cup of tea, and I also had rather awkward feelings throughout the film, but the great final part, when Clint Eastwood, driven by his desire for revenge, finally turns into that tough guy with damn quick reactions, cleared almost all doubts from my mind and showed me the true power of this genre. (16/09/2011)

I probably expected too much from it, but that definitely doesn't mean that it's an excellent western that stands on the border of modern understanding of western, but at the same time, it adheres to the tradition of Italian western. Clint's hero has his demons, but when it comes to the final reckoning, he is exactly the kind of badass you want. A very good western. (08/01/2016)

This is not the Wild West we know from old Westerns with John Wayne or the younger version of Clint. This is the stone cold reality of the late eighteenth century. The main heroes aren’t heroes at all, but ordinary people who might even miss, talk tough, fall off a horse or maybe their eyesight is just not as good anymore. Eastwood, Hackman and Freeman are great actors and the amazing finale which shatters all the Western movie clichés is just the icing on top of this extraordinary performance. (15/11/2009)

A cult western with Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman. It's definitely a solid piece of filmmaking, but it's probably not a film that made me fall on my ass. This western isn't about the action, as there's only one shootout at the end and it's still not worth much. It's more about the performances and the production design, which I can't fault, but I expected something more from it. I would definitely have liked a sleazy bad guy with thugs (no, a sheriff is not enough), at least one train robbery, a more spectacular shootout or a horse chase, and all of that is sadly missing here. Still, I'll give the film 70%, as I wasn't bored and it's quite good to watch, but I can't help being slightly disappointed. (11/09/2018)

A nicely shot western that has entered history as one of the most genuine and raw in its genre. Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman deliver masterful performances, with the brutal Gene Hackman skillfully supporting them (Oscar). In addition to all of this, there is perfect camera work, brilliant editing, and a final epilogue at sunset. (08/11/2003)