Costner loves Westerns. Since his success in Dances With Wolves, he followed it up with Wyatt Earp and now is back behind the helm on Open Range.

Set at the end of an era when much of the land used by cowboys was freely owned, the story surrounds a group of peaceful freegrazers, Charley (Costner), Boss (Robert Duvall), Button (Diego Luna) and Mose (Abraham Benrubi), who ride the range, believing it to be theirs, for the use of their cattle, while passing through.

When Mose heads into town to get supplies, he falls foul of a big landowner Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon) who has much influence in the town. He's good friends, for instance, with Sheriff Poole (James Russo), who also hates freegrazers and is only too pleased to trump up a charge to throw Mose into jail.

Getting him released, Charley and Boss hope they can draw a veil over the sorry episode, but their lives are immediately threatened by hired gunmen and before long an escalating feud has developed between themselves and Baxter's crew. Following an attack, Button needs the help of the local doctor, which in turn leads to a growing liaison between Charley and the doctor's sister (Annette Bening).

What you have in Open Range is a faithful Western that in some ways breaks new ground, but in others resorts to tried and tested formuliae, namely a feud that can only be settled by a shootout. It's also too slow - at least 30 minutes could have been shaved off the running time, including the removal of too many lingering and unnecessary shots of the freegrazers' cute canine).

Of the actors, Costner only partially convinces, as the Unforgiven-like reluctant gunman. Gambon has a pretty two-dimensional role, as the intolerant baddie, leaving the stage open for Duvall to satisfyingly convince as the freegrazing boss.

Open Range isn't a bad film, but it could have been a much better one, and if you hear laughs from the audience at moments when you don't expect them, you'll appreciate why.