The Coen version adds nothing new except some extra violence but that was to be expected.
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Film and Television Discussion
pete36 — 9 years ago(June 04, 2016 11:10 AM)
The Coen version adds nothing new except some extra violence but that was to be expected.
No idea why this was remade. Wayne simply rules in the original one. He sure deserved the Oscar. -
spasek — 9 years ago(June 28, 2016 07:51 AM)
I was reluctant to give the remake a shot, but I finally did. It was much better than I thought it would be. Still, I don't think it's as good as the original, and the biggest reason for that is John Wayne.
Jeff Bridges is a great actor, but Wayne's portrayal was just better, in my opinion. Bridges's slurred speech also made him a little tough to understand. I had to turn on the subtitles to catch everything. Wayne just had Cogburn down cold. There's a reason why certain iconic roles just can't be duplicated, and this was one of them. Although, as I said, Bridges was good. If the new film hadn't been a remake, it might well have stood on its own.
Still, I found Mattie Ross in the new film much more appealing and pleasant than Kim Darby's portrayal. However, I also felt that Darby was the better actress as she gave Ross more depth. But Darby's Ross was often annoying to me, so I'd take Hailee's characterization of Ross over Darby's. She made Ross softer. Also Hailee was closer in age to what Mattie was supposed to be.
Damon was a big upgrade for me over Glen Campbell. Damon is just a much better actor.
The original film just had more character development and chemistry, especially between Cogburn and Ross which is another big reason why I still think it's the better film.
Barry Pepper was good, but Robert Duvall is one of the best character actors of all time; a man who was able to hold his own with Wayne despite the limited screen time.
The remake was good, but the original still can't be topped. -
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micklips2013 — 9 years ago(October 19, 2016 10:24 AM)
Agreed. I believe the time of the original is a sticking point as no doubt it will be in the future to other films. All the same I would like to hear the original music during the stand off on the new version.
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yihdzelonh — 9 years ago(December 27, 2016 04:00 AM)
I've been told by a few people I personally know that the remake is as good -if not better than the original. I'm rarely a fan of 'remakes' especially almost all 'remakes' that have come out in the past 10-15 years; nearly all of which look mediocre to terrible.
I don't see the overrated Jeff Bridges as being anything other than miscast filling the shoes of the 'Duke.'
Saw a preview of the remake and I wasn't impressed. Is the remake really 'THAT' good or is it perhaps vastly overrated by critics and public alike? -
Trax-3 — 9 years ago(December 30, 2016 01:21 PM)
Saw a preview of the remake and I wasn't impressed. Is the remake really 'THAT' good or is it perhaps vastly overrated by critics and public alike?
The remake is much higher level in technical execution. It's like a art film compared to this, but on the other hand, it lacks heart compared to the original. -
ranb40 — 9 years ago(January 24, 2017 12:35 AM)
The old version was not as true to the book although it appeared to use more of the book's dialog other than at the end compared to the new version. The 2010 version also had some new scenes near the middle of the movie that were not in the book.
Glen Campbell did a poor job compared to Matt Damon, as did Kin Darby compared to Hailee Steinfeld. John Wayne was excellent, so was Jeff Bridges once he got his fist out of his mouth and started to talk more clearly. Barry Pepper and Robert Duvall were fine in their roles. Josh Brolin also outperformed Jeff Cory as Chaney.
The end of the original was a cop out, the ending of the 2010 version was much more compelling to watch. -
AnthonySocksss — 10 months ago(May 21, 2025 05:01 PM)
The original True Grit carries a mythic, almost fable-like quality. It has that clear sense of good vs. evil, with the outlaw Ned Pepper serving as a classic villain and Rooster Cogburn as the crusty but ultimately noble hero. The sweeping landscapes, Elmer Bernstein’s triumphant score, and the episodic structure (with snake pits, shootouts, and narrow escapes) all add to that boy’s adventure story tone—like something out of a dime novel or a Western Odyssey. Even Mattie, though the protagonist, is filtered through that same lens—plucky, precocious, and just otherworldly enough to fit the mold.
The Coen Brothers’ version, by contrast, pulls away from romanticism and strips the West of its glory. It’s a revisionist Western in that it complicates heroism and paints the frontier as a hard, indifferent place. The violence is more sudden and ugly. Cogburn is a broken man with flashes of valor but no mythic aura. And Mattie isn’t just tomboyish—she’s driven, rigid, morally absolute, and the world she walks into doesn’t bend to her clarity. The ending, too, feels lonelier, like the frontier has swallowed something that won’t be given back.
The 2010 version’s ending is cold, stark, and strangely haunting. Older Mattie, missing an arm and unmarried, standing at the grave of Rooster—there’s a real sense of emotional isolation and permanence. It’s not tragic in the usual sense, but it’s austere, gothic—like something out of Wuthering Heights or a Flannery O’Connor story. That coda underscores the cost of her grit: she survives, but she’s hardened and alone.
The 1969 film, meanwhile, wraps things up with a wink. Rooster jumps a fence on his horse, and we get a swelling score—it’s cheerful, nostalgic, a hero’s farewell. Like Treasure Island, it offers a world where danger and death are real but never existentially crushing. Mattie, though determined and smart, still feels like a vehicle for Rooster’s redemption arc, whereas in 2010, she is the moral center, and her arc is the one that stays with you.
The Coens seem to ask what grit really costs—especially for a 14-year-old girl stepping into a world defined by violence, compromise, and male codes of honor. The original wants to reassure; the remake wants to leave a mark.
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