When I say this is my favorite western it's strictly because that's the genre it's in. This movie deconstructs what a western actually is. Outlaws are portrayed as they actually were. Criminals. Not the outlaw to admire but the one to question one's feeling of them. This is highlighted in the train robbery. Is shot beautifully and sly with smoke flying around our supposed protagonist's area. However, as soon as they get onboard we see the reality of train robberies. Frank James goes around robbing the packed in cart of innocent travelers with no remorse and threatening them at the slightest act of defiance. On the other hand, Jesse is cruel and vicious with a joking demeanor that slowly fades as he wants to kill a man for no certain reason. The abnormalities that's places this movie apart from other westerns is not only in its scenes but in its location. The well shot movie shows the landscape as cold, hard, and uncomfortable. A far cry from the sunbathing desert we the audience usually sees. This film's depiction of Jesse James is clearly its shining star. A torn and violent man slowly descending into paranoia and anxiety. Who in his last moment excepts fate as he knew that betrayal was inevitable due to his actions leading up to the moment. Robert Ford is also a great character. More than just a cowardice greedy thief. A man pushed to his limits as his idol is applying a severe amount of stress on him. A man who regrets his decision in the end even though the madman Jesse James threatened his life and well being at every point. He misses him. He realizes just as Jesse did the infamy and notoriety isn't worth it as all they'll end up with is regret. They both end up dead with realization being the last thing on their minds. Jesse realizing his friend is going to kill him and Robert realizing what made Jesse who he was. That's the end of this phenomenal movie.
