Unfortunately I tend to see this movie as yet another example of how Hollyweird has lost it's ability to produce good movies.
While it would be silly to directly compare this to the 1969 version of the movie, there are some differences that totally took the steam out of this for me. On the plus side, I think the new version made Mattie Ross the principal character of the story which, I think, is more inline with the book. On the minus side, I think Jeff portrayed Rooster Cogburn wrong. My guess is that he was trying to provide his own interpretation of Rooster Cogburn and not be accused of trying to step into the Dukes boots. That said I felt his version makes Rooster seem more like a mean drunk wearing a Marshalls badge.
I suspect in the long run this movie will be successful! That said I think there are still a lot of people in the Motion Picture Academy who will shudder at the thought of giving Jeff Bridges an Academy Award for his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn, the same role that won John Wayne his only Oscar. And I would suspect Jeff Bridges knew the risks going into this project. It's a difficult thing to fill the boots of an American Icon...
