Tombstone is widely considered to be one of the greatest Westerns of the 1990s, taking everything that was so popular about the genre in previous decades and transforming it for a totally original, high-intensity drama filled with twists and turns. The story follows Wyatt Earp and his band of lawmen as they attempt to drive the notorious cowboys out of Tombstone, Arizona, both in order to protect the locals and to enact justice for the murder of one of their own. It’s a thrilling adventure through the American West that exemplifies exactly why Westerns have always been so popular.
Tombstone also features some incredible performances, namely from Kurt Russell as the famous lawman Wyatt Earp and Val Kilmer as his charismatic friend Doc Holliday. The pair have an amazing on-screen chemistry that makes this story feel consistently believable and authentic, painting the two characters in muddled and complicated lights that don’t shy away from the corruption of the American West. Val Kilmer has several iconic moments as Doc Holliday, but one intense shootout towards the end of the film takes the crown.
Doc Holliday Vs. Johnny Ringo Is Val Kilmer’s Best Scene In Tombstone
The Film’s Climax Brings Holliday’s Arc To A Close
Val Kilmer is the standout member of Tombstone’s talented cast, not least because of how complex and intriguing his character is, but simply because of how charming and charismatic he is in the role. The actor fits into this character perfectly, capturing the unique blend of humor and severity that made him such a fearsome face to come across in the Wild West. He epitomizes this in Holliday’s final duel against Johnny Ringo, the leader of the cowboys, at the end of Tombstone.
As soon as Holliday steps out of the shadows instead of Earp, the audience is immediately on the edge of their seats. From the beginning of the film, the character has been set up as weak and frail due to his illness, but in this moment, it’s hard to imagine him being more intimidating. The way he jests with Ringo before killing him is eerily calm, proving that despite his advanced tuberculosis, he’s able to get inside his enemies’ heads and use that to his advantage.
Tombstone Is Full Of Iconic Doc Holliday Moments
The Character Gets The Most Stylish Scenes In The Film
Doc Holliday has the best one-liners in Tombstone, which is certainly saying something, given the quality of the writing on display. Each character gets their moment to shine, even those who may not seem important at first, but it’s Doc Holliday that audiences are constantly drawn towards. Much of that comes down to Kilmer’s on-screen magnetism, as he delivers his lines in such unique ways that nobody else could have pulled off.
Whether it’s his duel against Johnny Ringo, his involvement in the shootout at the O.K. Corral, or his final conversation with Wyatt at the end of the film, every scene that Doc Holliday appears in manages to surpass expectations. He may not be the protagonist of the film, but he’s the emotional core of the story: while Earp is consumed by anger and vengeance over the murder of his brother, it’s Holliday’s level head that keeps everybody in check and ensures their victory. He’s a perfect foil to Earp’s character; neither would have been fully successful without the other.
Why Doc Holliday Vs. Johnny Ringo Is One Of The Western Genre’s Best 1-On-1 Shootouts
Tombstone Outshines Many Other Westerns With This Scene
1-on-1 shootouts have been a staple of the Western genre ever since its conception at the beginning of the 21st Century. There’s something about watching two men stare each other down, their fingers hovering over the guns at their hips, that’s often even more exciting than the gunfights that follow. It’s the perfect accumulation of tension, and Tombstone does it better than most other Westerns that preceded it. It works because the audience truly gets to know Holliday and Ringo’s temperaments over the course of the film, and this pays off with Ringo’s apprehension at the end.
It’s not just two men fighting because they dislike each other, it’s the inevitably fatal result of one man’s unbridled ambitions colliding with another man’s unwavering loyalty to his friend.
While films like Unforgiven, Shane, and The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly have some of the most dramatic shootouts in the Western genre, this shootout between Holliday and Ringo is arguably even stronger due to the thematic weight behind it. It’s not just two men fighting because they dislike each other, it’s the inevitably fatal result of one man’s unbridled ambitions colliding with another man’s unwavering loyalty to his friend – there’s no other way that Tombstone could have ended, and that’s a powerful statement on the futility of violence and masculine rage.