The wants are grandiose, but the gains are minuscule.

Christian Bale gives a typically half-measured, half-intense performance of a character who is mostly pretty awful but whom Hostiles wants to redeem for no clear reason whatsoever.

The journey is beautifully shot by cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi, but Bale's genius is wasted-he's often resigned to looking sullen and straining to recite the clunky dialogue.

Hostiles kicks off with an engrossing (and almost shockingly brutal) pre-credits sequence that effectively establishes the picture’s unflinching sensibilities...