“Tombstone” is a 1993 western, which features the legendary actor Val Kilmer, who is known for his astounding performance in movies such as “Top Gun” and…“Top Gun.”  His spectacular performance in this film has truly placed him among the greats, perhaps even making him a household name with the likes of Don Cheadle. The film’s soundtrack was created by Bruce Broughton, a famous music composer who is second only to Hans Zimmer, and John Williams, and Ennio Morricone, and Danny Elfman, and Howard Shore, and John Barry, and James Horner, and Thomas Newman and Alan Silvestri.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this film is that it was based on a true story, and if “Hachi” has taught us anything, it’s that in movies like this, the characters look and act completely identical to their real-life counterparts. That’s right folks, this might as well be a documentary.

“Tombstone” takes place in the western town of Tombstone and follows the story of Wyatt Earp, his brothers and his best friend Doc Holiday as the former marshalls and gunslingers try to settle down. Unfortunately, a group of cowboys called the Cowboys starts to shake things up and put the lives of the citizens in danger. 

Wyatt knows these cowboys are very dangerous and must be very intelligent, too, based on their name selection. As such, he decides to ignore them and hope for the best. Well, it turns out that ignoring a group of vicious criminals is indeed dangerous, and his brother pays the price with his life. This makes Wyatt angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry; he tends to go on suicidal rampages. Doc Holiday offers a helping hand with his wit and gunslinging prowess, all made possible by the powers of tuberculosis. Doc is the best character of any movie ever. He has nerves of steel and veins of pure, concentrated alcohol. Seriously, I think his liver is more impressive than his sharpshooting. This man drinks enough alcohol on a daily basis to pacify a gorilla, and he can still shoot just fine. Together, the two successfully kill the cowboys. Oh yeah, and Wyatt’s wife gets addicted to opium, so he does the logical thing and cheats on her.

“Tombstone” teaches the audience many valuable life lessons: it’s okay to cheat on your spouse as long as they suffer from a crippling addiction, anger makes you immune to bullets and ignoring an imminent threat is probably a bad idea. As such, “Tombstone” is easily the best movie of all time. It has revolutionized the film industry through its poetic characters and groundbreaking romance subplot and has become the pinnacle of the western genre. How could anyone not like this film? It needs more than a recommendation; everyone who hasn’t seen this groundbreaking masterpiece should be tied up and forced to watch. It has everything: action, comedy and crippling opioid addiction. Frankly, the fact that it isn’t taught in schools already is a tragedy.