John Wayne won the Oscar as hard-drinking gunslinger Rooster Cogburn in Henry Hathaway’s 1969 version of True Grit, from the novel by Charles Portis. It became a signature role for The Duke, sharing the screen with a young Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper.

Almost 40 years later, Jeff Bridges is nominated for the Oscar for the same role in Joel and Ethan Coen’s masterful reworking, which layers this bloody tale of retribution with the brothers’ trademark black humour.

It’s clear from his first appearance, shifting nervously in a courtroom witness stand, that Bridges is not paying homage to his predecessor. He mumbles words as if he is permanently chewing on a ball of tobacco, spitting out polished one-liners like bullets.

After a chaotic gunfight, he reneges on a promise to bury the fallen because the “ground is too hard. If these men wanted a decent burial they should have got themselves killed in summer”. So that’s how the west was won.

“I was just 14 years of age when a coward by the name of Tom Chaney shot my father down and robbed him of his life,” explains Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) in her opening voiceover. And so Mattie seeks out marshal Rooster Cogburn (Bridges) and hires him to help her track down Chaney (Josh Brolin), who has taken up with Lucky Ned Pepper (Barry Pepper) and his gang. A tenacious Texas Ranger called LeBoeuf (Matt Damon), who is also on Chaney’s trail, joins the hunting party. True Grit has an impressive ten Oscar nominations and deserves every single one.

Production design is impeccable, beautifully evoking the era when a gun spoke just as loudly as words. Steinfeld, who was 13-years-old when the film was made, is a revelation as the plucky daughter on a quest for vengeance. She is utterly believable in the role, holding her own against seasoned co-stars, as when Ned captures Mattie and makes fun of her friend Rooster.

Bridges is a hoot but some of his best lines are impossible to understand through his garbled delivery. Damon, Pepper and Brolin offer strong support. The Coens canter through the brilliantly orchestrated fights but remain tightly focused on the characters and the delightful if somewhat fractious relationship between Mattie and Rooster.

Gnomeo (James McAvoy) is a blue gnome, living on one side of the drive with mischievous sidekick Benny (Matt Lucas) and his mute best pal, Shroom in Gnomeo & Juliet. His mother, Lady Blueberry (Maggie Smith), keeps a close eye on the ceramic bunnies that festoon the lawn and on her rival Lord Redbrick (Michael Caine), who presides over the garden next door. He is determined to protect feisty daughter Juliet (Emily Blunt) by consigning her to the top of a castle-shaped garden feature, from where she rebuffs the advances of sweet and unassuming Paris (Stephen Merchant). A chance encounter between Gnomeo and Juliet sows the seeds of true love but her bully boy cousin, Tybalt (Jason Statham), would rather mow down a blue than see the two families united in holy matrignomey. Gnomeo & Juliet doesn’t outstay its welcome and Kelly Asbury draws on his experience directing Shrek 2 to infuse a quintessentially British story with enough broad comedy to ensure the film kicks some grass on the other side of the Atlantic.

McAvoy and Blunt are both sweet but the only vocal performance that stands out is Ashley Jensen as a dramatic amphibian, looking for someone to share her lily pad. Some gags are recycled from the compost heap but we root for the pint-sized central characters, right up to the madcap finale.