Tag Archives: Western

Three Godfathers Review

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This film’s pretty interesting in how it feels like it turns into a completely different film as soon as the main characters leave town. At first it seemed like more of a personal drama with a bunch of hooligans messing things up and having to be thrown out soon. Instead we get more of a survival film. I do have to admit that the first part seemed a little more interesting but it also could have backfired pretty badly with the romance so maybe this was the right move. It can drag a little but I wouldn’t call it a bad film.

The movie starts off with two strangers wandering into town. One is a nice old guy named Doc and the other is someone who likes music named Gus but keeps on changing his backstory. Still they’re harmless enough and this town is a very friendly one where everyone is invited to enjoy the festivities. It’s all going well until a third guy walks into the room, Bob. Bob was kicked out of the town years ago for generally being a big delinquent and nobody is happy to see him. He doesn’t seem happy to be here either but mainly returned to get some drinks and hook up with different people. One of the girls he liked is getting married though so he lost out.

He tries to play some mind games on her but ultimately it doesn’t work. So he robs the place with Doc and Gus as they run out of there. These hardened criminals won’t stop for anything…except a baby that they come across. His mother dies from being stuck in the desert for so long so now these three have to help the baby. Can they do it though? Bob is heavily against this and figures they should leave the baby to die while Doc in particular wants to help him. This could end up sealing his fate but ultimately he risks it all to make the right decision. Will they survive?

It’s always tricky when you have a film focusing around a bunch of villains because you have to be careful not to write them to be too evil or it’ll just be annoying for the viewers to see them the whole time. Alternately you don’t want to be halfhearted about the whole thing or then there was no point to the plot in general. Doc and Gus mostly hit that proper medium but Bob is mean enough where the redemption arc doesn’t work as well for him. There were several times he was going to leave the baby to fend for himself and certainly didn’t help much in trying to preserve everyones’ lives. He’s the kind of guy who is in it for himself all the way through.

Even back at home his poor reputation was well deserved. He’s clearly the kind of guy who has commitment issues and lies as he breathes. The guy really does everything possible to be a super antagonist the whole time. The characters should have definitely kicked him out again. Sure they were definitely scared but they had the numbers advantage there. The guy was also threatening the fiancé of one guy who just didn’t do much about it. It is a shame that the film pretty much confirms that the girl did still like Bob and basically settled with the nice guy for marriage. That always seems like one of the most tragic things where the guy is super happy because the girl finally said yes to marrying him and yet she only did it because there were no better options. That’s enough to traumatize someone.

Again, the film really shifts gears when the main characters leave the town though so these plots don’t actually get followed up nor do the characters appear much from this point. It’s glossed over a bit though in how Bob does shoot someone before leaving. You’d think he would have been shot on sight or taken down as soon as the baby was secure. He’s not exactly just a guy who’s down on his luck, he’s a hardened killer.

Meanwhile Doc and Gus share some guilt by association. They are stealing money from a town that absolutely could have used it and they are doing this for their own selfish ideals. Gus and Doc may be nicer people in general and have some kind of moral compass but it doesn’t take away from the fact that they are villains and it’s important to keep that in mind the whole time. Because if you forget it then that does a disservice to their victims.

It’s great that they wanted to help out the baby, it just doesn’t take away from the rest of their actions. On the topic of the baby though, that’s where the film starts to drag on a bit. It turns out that the rest of the film is all about escorting the baby through the desert. That means there is not much variety in the backgrounds and the heroes have to move very slowly since they are basically dying of hunter and thirst by the end. It’s not the most engaging watch as a result because you want things to move a whole lot quicker.

The writing is solid enough with a lot of good dialogue but the film just doesn’t make much progress at all. It feels like you could easily cut out 20-30 minutes from the film and you would be set. Viewers who really like the desert or appreciate a slow burn will probably enjoy it but it’s all a bit overdone for me. Even considering that the film’s length isn’t even all that long on its own. No this was definitely that could have been changed a bit. There’s just not much to find interesting about some people carrying a baby through the desert without some kind of sub plot or the event being that enormous that it warrants such a long detailed amount of screentime.

Overall, This is a film where almost all of it is about walking through the desert. It’s played fairly serious so there’s not a whole lot of banter or anything like that to take your mind off of things. It’s a solidly written movie but the only main negative is that it can be a little boring and that’s a big blow for any film. You always want to be exciting or at least super entertaining throughout your whole run. If not then it feels like something really went wrong. Having this take place in the city or something would have been better or maybe just more fight scenes. This was definitely way more adventure than action after all. Or just have the heroes make it to a town where they have to fight off the locals to get the bay some medical attention, now there would be a climax and you’d have all 3 make it there, but two would die during the fight so there’s just one man left standing.

Overall 5/10

Stagecoach Review

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It’s time for a film about a bunch of people all stuck together on a stagecoach. It makes for a pretty interesting film even if some of the characters sure can be annoying. It’s intentional though and you get to see everyone’s true colors this way. I wouldn’t say there is a ton of action but we do get an exciting climax with some gun slinging action. Ultimately I don’t see this one being too memorable next to other titles but it’s good enough.

The movie starts with a few people getting onto a stage coach and they pick up some extra passengers along the way. One of them is a very infamous shooter named Ringo who is a wanted man. Some of the passengers don’t feel safe with him here but now they’re all heading the same way. They temporarily stop at a hut to get supplies and regroup but they lose time when one of the passengers begins to give birth. Indians and Bandits are quickly approaching and the army base isn’t nearby. Can these strangers find a way to unite and fight against these odds or are they completely doomed?

There’s definitely a lot of pettyness going on among the crew which makes it hard for them to unite. First up we have Dallas who is treated poorly by some of the other characters (Hatfield in particular) as she is a lady of the night and it’s not a profession that the characters hold in high regard. The only one who mainly defends her is Ringo who doesn’t really know or care about her past. He’s an outlaw and his values are also a bit different but he also knows it’s just plain silly to be making such a big fuss about this.

Look, it’s definitely a bad job to have but Dallas may have been forced into that business or there could be all kinds of explanations. The characters shouldn’t be so quick to condemn her and also it’s not really the time or place for this. Their being petty isn’t helping anyone. Dallas tries her best anyway like staying up the whole time the baby is being born to help as much as she can. In general she doesn’t complain or anything and is one of the most polite passengers.

As for Ringo, he may be a crook but he seems like the nicest guy on the coach. It’s definitely ironic when something like that happens. He’s an easy character to root for as a result especially compared to the others. It’s also helpful to have someone on your side who actually knows how to fight since the characters know that a fight is coming up and they won’t be able to avoid it. Without him they would all definitely be doomed.

Then we have Hatfield who is likely the worst character here. He crosses the line from being a nice guy into a “nice guy”. He constantly puts Dallas down while trying to show his complete servitude to Mrs. Mallory. The guy just never felt genuine in the slightest and naturally his idea when the going got tough was to shoot her as a “mercy” before the villains finished them off. That’s not the kind of mercy most of us are looking for and this guy just gets on your nerves the whole time.

Doc Boone is another annoying character because of how he’s always getting drunk. As the local doctor he really needs to stay sober at all times for emergencies like when Mrs. Mallory was giving birth. In the end he’s able to handle the situation just barely but it ended up being a lot closer than it needed to be and that’s entirely on him. Afterwards his first thought is to go right back to drinking too so it’s not like he learned anything. Getting addicted to alcohol like that is always such a tragic thing because you see how the character is completely overwhelmed by it.

Mrs. Mallory seemed okay enough. She wasn’t quite as rude as Hatfield but she wasn’t particularly nice to Dallas either until Dallas helped with the baby. Before that I’d call her knowingly oblivious at best. She would just stay out of the way for the most part. Then there’s Samuel who mainly serves as the resident coward of the group. He’s a bit afraid to voice his own decisions here and in general just isn’t a commanding figure. Hey, I’ll take that over being super annoying or an antagonist so that’s a start.

The writing here has that retro feel to it that I always enjoy. The script is pretty good. Even if I may not enjoy some of the characters, I can still appreciate the back and forth banter the whole time. The pacing of the film is pretty solid and the fight we get is good. This is certainly not an action film so don’t watch it for that but it’s still an added bonus. In the end this is a film you shouldn’t really have any big issues with. It’s a fairly safe ride to the end.

The cast is also fairly big so the movie does a good job of throwing so many figures at you. They all have different personalities and don’t really overlap. I didn’t even go into all of them here. The film is another reminder of why I wouldn’t have wanted to be around during the wild west era though. It feels like you are always one broken stagecoach away from serious trouble. If a wheel slips out you’re basically dead because you’ll be caught before you walk to the next army base. Even if it’s working bandits could show up at any time and if you don’t have a lot of guns then you would be doomed.

If you think about it, things go sideways for the characters here because they got delayed and before they could leave the enemies popped up. It’s not even like they made a bunch of bad decisions like horror protagonists. It’s not like you could stop the baby from being born at that moment either so the heroes were just in a rather sticky position the whole time. They’re lucky that the enemy group wasn’t bigger or things would have really gotten dicey.

Overall, Stagecoach is a good movie albeit one that is not the most memorable. It’s not particularly exceptional in any way, it just goes about its business and executes the story at a good level. Without the big gunfights or super memorable characters to write about it isn’t able to compete with the top members of the genre but it still beats the weaker ones. That’s why I’d say it’s a good movie. It’s not breaking any records but it handles itself well enough.

Overall 6/10

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Review

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It’s time for a fairly retro film and a pretty fun one at that. It’s sort of part western to an extent while also being pretty original in its own way. It really deals with the power of the pen vs the gun and lets just say that back then the latter always had a tendency to win. The film has good writing and a likable cast of characters which ultimately makes this a big winner in my book.

The movie unfortunately does start in the future which removes a ton of tension. I still think this is an awful movie technique but yeah we start with Senator Ransom and his wife Hallie heading over to a small town to pay their respects to someone who died. The local newspapers figure they have a right to know what’s going on here and pester the guy until he finally tells the story. So the rest of the film is a flashback but hey we now know that the main two characters get out of this alive. Why would you do this? Seriously whyyyyyyy.

Yeah so in the past Ransom is attacked by a group of thugs led by Liberty and that’s when he realizes that it’s time to clean this town up. The problem is that he’s effectively a stranger in this town and while he wants to begin practicing law, it’s difficult when the villains don’t respect him. He doesn’t lose hope though and wants to hold an election and make this a safe town. It will take a lot of guts though and some planning because Liberty makes it clear that he will shoot Ransom. There is one guy who isn’t afraid of this villain, a guy named Tom.

Tom is an excellent shot himself and has taken many opponents down in the past but he’s really not going to go after Liberty. If Liberty gets in his way then Tom will shoot him dead but Liberty is mainly gunning after Ransom so Tom holds his peace. The villain is making allies though so soon the whole village may be doomed. In the meantime Tom is in love with Hallie but she is in love with Ransom making things a little tricky. Gee I wonder who she picks….after all we already saw the flash forward from the first scene….

So for the good parts, as I mentioned earlier I did really like the writing here. The characters are very reasonable and the dialogue is strong. I thought the movie did a good job of also showing why Ransom’s ideals were not going to be enough here. At the end of the day you do need some power in order to push through with your convictions. That’s the way that it’s always been as otherwise you will just be destroyed and nobody will remember you. Ransom starts working on his shooting later on but it’s just a little too late.

You’re not going to beat a lifelong gunman when you just started training. I mean you can possibly win because in a shootout all you need is one good shot but the odds aren’t in your favor. At times I do think Ransom was a little overly naive though like when he yelled at Tom for saving his life in the diner. Liberty would have kept escalating and Ransom just didn’t want to admit that having a gun was real useful at that point. Ultimately while he would likely never admit it to Tom, he does see the value here. The ending works really well with this as Ransom has a really good life but will always have some memories about the past that he would rather forget.

Tom is absolutely the standout character here though. I like how tough he is and that he was the only character who would actually stand up to Liberty the whole time. You always got the feeling that he would have crushed Liberty in a straight fight and the villain knew it which is why he always backed down. Tom wasn’t the hero type so he wasn’t going to save the town but I just liked the idea of him being a wild card. The guy was having his own cinematic adventure off screen as we hear about him winning fights and shooting opponents down.

He also gets the best directed scene in the movie involving a flashback to a scene we saw earlier in the film but with a different camera angle. Not only does it fix a potential power levels issue but it just enhances the film quite a lot. At the end of the day Tom’s a fairly complex character but someone you can count on. He definitely starts to slip a lot in the end and things don’t always go great for him, but he was definitely a lot of fun.

His partner Pompey was also great. You can’t forget that he saved Tom’s life on several occasions and you can assume the same has been true for a while. There are many situations where being on your own would be fatal in these fights. Having a strong ally makes for a world of difference. Then you have the heroine Hallie who is nice enough. She probably could have been a little more direct in who she wanted to be with between Tom and Ransom but I would put the least amount of pressure on her because Tom was the one trying to pull moves the whole time. Even if you don’t get a direct rejection you can often tell where the wind is blowing and he was being intentionally oblivious I’d say hoping that he would win.

As a villain Liberty isn’t bad. I think the film did a good job of showing how he would act really tough and cocky around people who can’t fight back but would shrink to the actually powerful opponents. I’d say that’s probably true for many villains. This guy could look rather whiny and weak at times but it made for a fairly realistic villain. Then we have the comic relief Link who was mainly here to show how this town got so weak in the first place. He was definitely not ready to fight off anybody and naturally that empowers the villains.

Overall, This was a pretty fun film and I really don’t have many complaints. Of course I would have cut out the first scene so it doesn’t spoil almost the entire movie’s stakes but the actual movie is still high quality. Also the reporters are completely unlikable with how they forced Ransom to tell them the story. He honestly should have told them to get lost instead of answering their questions with the kind of attitude they were having but I guess that’s just how it goes. In the end Ransom was always a nice guy even if it was to a fault at times.

Overall 7/10

The Second Time Around Review

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The Second Time Around is one of those films where you’ve got a pretty decent setup for a wild west film but it doesn’t take itself all that seriously and gets lost in the sauce. You can do a pretty good parody if you want or make this a full comedy but in the end this one didn’t do either of that. The romance actually ends up bringing it down. It’s still reasonably entertaining at times but has enough flaws to prevent me from calling it a good movie.

The movie starts with a lady named Lu heading to the wild west to get a job so that she can provide for her kids. As a single mother it ain’t easy ever since her husband died while on duty. Still, she is ready to do something about this but the job falls through and she only manages to get by thanks to the grace of an old lady named Aggie. Aggie decides to help Lu out which is great but helping out with odd jobs isn’t going to be enough to pay the bills. Perhaps if Lu were to become Sheriff then she could change things but the town is a corrupt one with a lot of powerful players. Can Lu really hold her own when she is new to the area?

Really where the film breaks down is the romance as I mentioned so lets jump right to that. Dan and Pat both fall in love with Lu as soon as she appears. Dan is the bad boy of the town who operates an illegal gambling/beer joint while paying off the corrupt sheriff to keep it operational. Naturally that means Lu does not have a whole lot of respect for the guy. That being said, he has a quick wit which makes it easy to fool her.

Then you have Pay the nice guy. He plays things by the book and wants to win her over the right way. Of course you know that means he’s probably doomed here since things always get tough for the nice guy. It’s part of the film that will have you shaking your head. Now by no means am I saying Lu should have gone with him. Being a nice guy doesn’t mean you’re owed anything in the slightest and if he’s not her type then that’s it. It’s not about who lost but about who won. See part of what hurts here is how far Dan goes.

He tricks Lu into going out with him into the mountains because he knows that she needs money for her kids. So he claims there is gold up there and even plants some so she could get a bit and then ideally fall for him since he helped her out so much. He even takes the chance to steal a few kisses from her during the movie which is always an extremely bad look. Seriously you can’t come back from that so Lu somehow liking him in the end anyway is pretty crazy. This is the kind of film that is throwing in a romance that doesn’t need to be there.

I’m cool with them becoming friends in the end. He helped save her life at the end after all so maybe they call it square but actually getting together with him? Nahhhh that’s definitely no good. It also means that the film has a pretty weak cast since Dan is supposed to be one of the likable characters. You just can’t really end up liking him after all of that. It’s just way too late for him to even begin to mount a comeback.

I don’t mind Pat all that much. He’s a likable guy but a little too timid and slow to act. So he does lose some points for that. Then we have the main villain as the Sheriff. I knew the guy was corrupt from the start but I didn’t really suspect just how corrupt he was. Definitely one of the more petty villains but at least he gave the film a little danger along with the rest of the bandits. Unfortunately this shows why Lu would not make for a good sheriff.

See at the end of the day you need a sheriff who can really fight. Someone who is an excellent shot with a gun or something like that. If Lu could shoot down everyone in her way then of course it makes sense for her to lead. But she goes down so effortlessly against the villains without even putting up a fight. I’d say that is what really hurts her in the end. If the film could have at least had her defeat a few fighters first then that would have absolutely helped a whole lot.

Aggie was a nice character although she didn’t do a whole lot here. The fact that she gave Lu a place to be where she could earn money was nice of her though. So all in all you can see why this film didn’t rank as highly as it could. It ended up being rather jumbled with no really strong aspects to the film. It wasn’t particularly going for a comedic angle so there weren’t a ton of jokes to keep it afloat. The fight scenes on average weren’t all that good for one of these films and of course the romance was really not good.

If they toned down how naïve Lu was and made her a little more skilled that would have done the film a world of good. I do think there is a decent film somewhere in here but it’s buried really deep. It’s not even an awful film or anything like that but I wouldn’t call it a good one. Ultimately you will want to give this one a skip. Lu didn’t even get to keep the gold she got since she threw it away in rage. I have to say that I would have kept the gold. Planted there for me to find or not, it’s mine now and gold was worth a whole lot back then. You really want to keep it.

Overall, You can even tell from the title of the film how this is going to be about a rebound. I already don’t care much for rebound romances so making that the very center of the movie is already starting things off on the wrong foot. If you’re going to do a classic story of two guys fighting over the girl then don’t add the dead husband in the first place. Just make it an initial romance and that’s already a much more wholesome plot. It’s still not going to save the fact that Dan’s such a bad character but it’s the attempt that counts.

Overall 4/10

Support Your Local Sheriff Review

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This is definitely one of the better westerns out there and starts off as a really strong title right off the bat. It has a good amount of humor and action throughout so you won’t be forgetting this one by the time you’re done. It ends up sticking the landing and so even if it isn’t perfect, the movie absolutely accomplishes what it set out to do.

The movie starts off with a very serious funeral being interrupted as some gold is spotted so everyone gets to digging. The town is fairly well off now and so they had to quickly get the government set up but nobody wants to be Sheriff. The Sheriff is always run out of town by the Danby gang who basically run the village from the shadows. Well one day a guy named Jason appears and he is a very confident gunslinger. The mayor and his crew are glad to have Jason on board but they didn’t really think he would be as good as his confident demeanor would have you believe. When Jason begins to rock the boat and upset the Danby family they have to decide if they have his back or not.

The town is not loyal in the slightest and it all trickles down from the mayor. He may say all the right things from time to time but it’s clear that he doesn’t truly believe in Jason. If he did then he wouldn’t be so nervous about the Danbys winning. He’s constantly trying to talk Jason out of helping or to get him to leave but it’s just too late for that now. He should have thought of that before hiring the Sheriff. Additionally he could be more direct about it instead of just waiting the whole time or talking passively as he beat around the bush the whole time.

It does make for a lot of entertaining scenes of course but it doesn’t make you like the character much at all. The town really tried their best to keep getting victimized by the Danby family so you half wish Jason would just run off at some points. Even the main heroine Prudy tries to tell him that he should run away. At first you figure she’s just trying to play him by saying all of this so he would say but when the scene ends it seems like it actually wasn’t her plan and she genuinely thought it would be safer for him to leave.

Little twists like that are part of what makes this film really solid. It is able to be a smart parody of the usual wild west adventure without being too obvious about it. The best complement to the film is that it often is quite funny. I had a good time with it that’s for sure and it has a good amount of replay value so you could easily watch it over again. The writing is on point and so you have a good amount of banter between all of the characters.

If the film has one weakness it’s that the romance here is definitely on the weak side. It’s probably difficult right out of the gate to have a serious romance in a parody film so they should have probably tried to make it more of a comedic subplot. We do have the gag where something embarrassing always seems to be happening to Prudy when she meets Jason but usually you’re just waiting to get back to the action.

The Danby family makes for some decent villains. Of course they’re all greatly outmatched against Jason but they definitely don’t train as often as he does. This guy has been fighting with a gun since forever while they likely just use it for threats most of the time. Jason is always one step ahead and knows just how to intimidate them in order to come out on top. Sometimes it is directly and sometimes he has to trick them but he always comes out on top.

Jason is a huge reason as to why the film is so good. I love the boundless confidence that he has and so it always lets him have the last laugh here. Without him as the lead the movie wouldn’t be as good and the sort of sequel to this film really underscores that but I’ll get to that film soon. Jason dominates the movie right out of the jump and he gets a lot of the funniest jokes. You definitely need him in order to make this film a success.

I thought Jake was decent at times too though. At least he was the one person in town who was actually willing to defend Jason and help him out when the going got tough. You certainly couldn’t expect that out of most of the other townsfolk who were just waiting to get wrecked. Prudy gets some credit here as well since she is introduced as a fighter early on and then helps a lot in the climax. In fact she helps so much that Jason even wants her to calm down since he was hoping not to murder anyone. I thought Prudy had the right idea here though since you need to take them down for the count.

Overall, With good pacing and a lot of fun humor there isn’t really anything to dislike about the film. It certainly underscores how difficult it is to be a sheriff because everyone is against you the whole time. You have to build some strong connections and quickly or you will end up being completely run over by everyone else. There’s never a point where the movie drags on and so I would go as far as to say this was a great movie. I could easily re watch it now which speaks to how good it is. If you like Westerns or just want to watch a fun comedy then this is the title for you. There are still serious moments and fights but the film masterfully mixes and matches the different tones throughout.

Overall 8/10

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Review

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Now this is what I would call a very good western. We’ve got an interesting cast here with a main character who is very quickly turning crazy. Usually it’s a slow descent into madness but this guy is on a speed run and nobody’s gonna be stopping him. It shows how greed can really take you out if you don’t keep your guard up at all times. Also if you aim to be rich, be careful about making this a team sport.

The movie starts by introducing us to Fred and Bob who are really down on their luck. They’re basically penniless and just got scammed by someone. Just when it looks like they are doomed to be on the street for good, they run into a guy named Howard who says that he used to be great at gold digging and even got rich but he spent his fortune away. Fred and Bob figure they’ll take their chances with him and things go well…almost too well. Now that they are taking in all of the gold they don’t know when to stop. Can they stop?

Now this is one of those films where the conflict only happens because one of them is completely insane. If not then this would have been simple. You make enough money to last the rest of your life and go home. It’s easy and now you’re all set. Unfortunately Fred just wants more and more while also growing more paranoid. As the film goes on he basically becomes the villain here. It’s a little hard to just leave as well for most of the film because there’s always the chance you’ll get shot in the back. All 3 characters have a gun after all.

Now, I do think Bob should have just shot Fred after a point. Once he realizes that Fred is out to murder him, you have to move first. If he doesn’t want to cross the big line then he could just shoot out a leg and tip the authorities to come and find him later on. I think those would have been very safe options that would have really done the trick here without just being in harm’s way the whole time. In the end he was just a little too merciful which nearly got him several times.

Bob is a nice guy and he deals a fair hand to everyone. He likes money and gold as much as the next guy but he doesn’t let it control him or anything like that. It’s why it’s easy to root for him. Fred on the other hand is one of those guys who gets corrupted real easy. I like how he’s a total tough guy and tries to intimidate the others in every scene but it’s just too bad that he couldn’t keep this in check. Ultimately there is always someone tougher out there and so he just put himself on a path where there was absolutely no winning. Things get a little tricky for him.

Part of why the film succeeds though is because it is always tense with all of this happening without trying too far with it. A lesser film might have had Fred get tortured by the end or completely broken as commence for what he was doing but this one just stuck to the basics. I’d say Fred got his just desserts well enough without dragging things out. The movie doesn’t have any horses getting blown up or making the usual western mistakes. Instead it played things by the numbers and did well for itself.

The cast was also solid which helped a lot. Fred was a great villain and I liked Bob as a hero. Howard was a solid wild card as I can’t say that I trusted him at all as the film went on. He always seemed a little off and it was nice to have a crazy wild card like this guy. He always said the silent part out loud about how the main characters might want to double cross each other. He seemed to enjoy increasing the stakes and messing with them the whole time. He was playing with fire but the guy never seemed nervous. Howard really was an old pro.

Finally you had Cody who is not nearly as smart. The guy wanted to get rich as well and didn’t care how many times he was told off by the others, he just kept on coming and trying to shoot his shot. On one hand I do think it’s impressive just how determined the guy was but at the same time I just don’t think it was worth it. Is getting rich really worth putting yourself in the line of fire with 3 guys who all seem dangerous? Fred wasn’t exactly subtle with how he was threatening Cody after all so it’s not like this was a vague danger. It was a very specific risk that he would lose his life in this endeavor.

Additionally you also have a lot of bandits and other villains running around. It’s no exaggeration to say that there was danger around every corner. Not the safest place to be so it’s another reason why you want to grab your gold and run off. The local cops actually looked really good here by the end as well. It may not be possible to stop the bandits all of the time but once they have their sights on them, it’s only a matter of time. They run a tight ship in that town.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this film. It did very well for the genre and the writing was just really consistent the whole way through. If you’re looking for a tense film that also speaks to the risks of riches then this is the one for you. The characters really get to learn why getting rich can be a danger in itself. The ending also works well with the theme of the movie. It may not be the happiest ending out there but it gets the job done and you’ll feel satisfied with how the movie turned out.

Overall 7/10

The Naked Spur Review

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It’s time for a trip down the Wild West, but unfortunately this one’s not a winner. The characters rarely make the right choices and so this becomes a lot harder for everyone involved than it needs to be. There’s also a random moment with a sick horse that has to be put down and it really has nothing to do with anything here. It’s a shame because you always want to think through every scene before putting it in a feature film or any kind of media tbh.

The movie starts with Kemp trying to track down Vandergroat to bring him to justice. Unfortunately the guy is holed up at the top of a mountain and it’s difficult to approach since he keeps throwing rocks down which can easily destroy anyone who gets close. Fortunately Kemp gets help from a local guy named Jesse and an ex-law enforcer named Roy. They’re able to take this villain down and his companion Lina. Now all Kemp has to do is quietly take Vandergroat back to the town to get his money but the villain lets the others know about the bounty as well. Roy and Jesse now insist on traveling the whole way too. Can the three of them mind their own business long enough make it to town or will Vandergroat be able to exploit their lack of intelligence?

This is one of those films that only works if each character is absolutely awful at long term decision making. Fortunately for Vandergroat that is the case. We already know that Kemp is really greedy with how he wasn’t about to tell the others about the reward money. He’s only looking out for himself but you like to think that after that he would have been able to keep his head in the game and stay focused. Instead, he is constantly goaded by the villain and has disagreements with his two companions. I want to say the burden or blame starts with Kemp since it’s his initial deception that caused everyone to stop trusting him. Additionally he should be keeping Vandergroat more securely bound. That guy is as tricky as they come after all.

Then we have Roy who is my favorite member of the 3 but he’s not above suspicion and mistakes either. For starters he tends to promote ideas that would split up the group which implies that he is trying to make a move for the money. Even if he isn’t, he should realize how this all sounds. There’s also a scene near the end where he is a little too desperate in going after a body. I get that he’s worked hard for this but risking your life too much is not a good idea. You can’t use the money when you’re dead after all.

I did think he made the right move in startling the Indians when the heroes were around though which forced them to all fight together. Otherwise the other characters were absolutely prepared to have him be sacrificed by fighting on his own. This trio really had absolutely 0 unity and it certainly shows. At least he had a lot of confidence and a quick wit. His flirting could be well over the top at times though which holds him back.

Finally you have Jesse and he has to be the worst character of the trio because he falls for the easiest bait. All Vandergroat has to do is start talking to the guy and you can immediately see him slipping. That’s just awful, you shouldn’t be falling for things like that. No shot and the whole thing is very embarrassing to the point where it’s hard to feel bad for him. He absolutely had to know what he was getting into and yet he just didn’t make a move to stop it. His greed got the best of him.

Then there’s Vandergroat who would easily be doing better if he would at least pretend to care about Lina. Instead he always acts like she’s just an accessory who will stay by him no matter what. With some more support they could have fooled the heroes due to how disorganized they were. Instead Vandergroat is just one of those guys who goes crazy with power and is determined to make things as tough on himself as possible.

I wouldn’t spare Lina from some guilt here as well. She lets the guy treat her any which way and still follows him when given the chance. I think she could have been more helpful to the heroes and just chosen them instead. Granted, none of the heroes are all that good but surely it’s better to be on their side rather than this guy right? It’s not like a future with him sounds good at all. Most likely she would be regretting this the whole time.

So what really holds the film back is that the characters just aren’t very likable. There’s a whole lot of internal fighting and it’s the only way the villain would have a chance here. Otherwise the film really could have been over in minutes. That’s how bad Vandergroat’s position was. Also there’s the fact that the bounty was for dead or alive so if the heroes had been more cruel, they would have shot him off the jump. The deck was stacked in their favor this time and they still come close to blowing it.

The horse dying scene is also just crazy. It should have absolutely been skipped. Why add a scene like that? Finally the ending is not satisfying. Way I see it, Kemp made the wrong call here. I get what the film is trying to say but it’s still not worth it. What’s done is done so why throw out something which can at least give you some value out of the experience? I don’t think it in anyway hurts your character or integrity by this point in the game. If anything you owe it to everyone else to finish the job. So the ending did not land for me at all.

Overall, You can do way better with Wild West films than this one. The whole thing feels very contrived with how the villain is able to split everyone apart. They’re all way too easily influenced. Why put so much stock into what the villain is saying? He clearly has an agenda and a reason to get the heroes to fight so listening to him is just asking for trouble. They probably should have gagged him right at the start. Would have been the smarter move imo.

Overall 4/10

Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues Review

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The first Gambler film was fun enough and it continues with a solid sequel. This one was quite long which is definitely impressive. It gives the film time to really slow down and go through the motions as the main character builds up a full team to fight the villains. This one plays out more like a classic western in that sense as the characters jump into battle and there is not a lot of actual gambling here. In fact, there’s only one game but it’s fun enough. I wish we got more card games though because I think that would have definitely been a really good move.

The movie starts with Brady and the gang back on the train as they head to San Francisco. At long last they can get there for some final games. Brady tells his friend Billy that it’s time to retire though as Brady is going to be a full time father now. Unfortunately the train is attacked by the McCourt gang who decide to take Brady’s son Jeremiah hostage. They are now aiming to take $1 million dollars from the bank. Fortunately it is several days away. Brady needs to try and get there ahead of them so he can take these fiends out. The reason for this is because the owner of the train is planning to get all of the money out of the train before McCourt arrives. When McCourt finds out that he has been tricked…well it will not go very well for Jeremiah so he has to hurry at top speed. Can he make it?

Now you might wonder how this would last for 3 hours right? Well, the journey being such a long one that takes place over several days is the key reason here. Usually you would just skip ahead a lot but the film uses this as a way to really show how long this journey is. There are lots of scenes of the heroes traveling, the villains traveling, or both groups just taking a break. Brady also has to quickly go and grab some backup because as good as he is, he won’t be able to take the McCourt gang down by himself. Billy’s eager to help but even then it would be 2 against over 10 men.

So the first chunk of the film is about Brady going around and getting some backup. It turns out that he had a lot of connections from back during his war games. Brady has really been around the block, that’s for sure. None of the guys he recruits are super notable though. I don’t think the recruitment phase was as strong as in the other western titles and I can even tell you why. Usually in this phase, each of the characters gets to look really hype so you understand that the lead is building up a team of all stars. Surprisingly this version does not go in that direction. In fact, you could very easily make the case that most of these guys are only decent fighters at best. They just happen to be fighters that Brady knows about.

The only particularly powerful one is a local bounty hunter named Kate. She is the only member that Brady didn’t know about previously but when he finds out about her reputation, he has to quickly go over and recruit her. She’s definitely happy about the money but is she hiding anything from the group? There is always a risk to throwing a wild card into your deck, even if she happens to be a very powerful asset. I can’t say I liked her very much. Sure, she is a fun character but for most of the film she ends up being a big obstacle and while she ends up turning around, it took a while to do so.

She still beats one of Brady’s recruits who was just a painful character. The guy didn’t even know how to be an effective traitor and lets his feelings get the best of him. That guy got off easy if anything. Even his final lines are him trying to be cryptic again instead of being helpful. Perhaps he used to be a solid fighter back in the day but certainly not in the present. The rest of Brady’s men were okay even if they weren’t very remarkable.

Brady is a solid main character as always. He can fight with the best of them and is always ready with his hand on the trigger. He dominates in the poker game in the film although sadly we only get one game that’s rather short. He also takes down the villain when it counts. He’s effectively the perfect main character in a lot of ways as he’s a great fighter, leader, poker player, strategist, and never gives up. The guy is written as someone with no real weaknesses and the only reason the villains last a while is because they are always running.

Sadly Billy doesn’t get much of a role here. He’s around the whole time but just doesn’t get to contribute as much as you’d like. Considering that he saved the day in the first film I would have liked to have seen more of him here. At least he gives a good speech to cheer Brady up at one point. Jeremiah is on the annoying side. I know he’s trying to help Brady by constantly interfering with the villains but only plot armor keeps him alive after the first attempt. Jeremiah takes way too many risks and most of the attempts just never had a chance at succeeding. If you want to escape that’s fine but you have to do it in a smart way or it’s just going to completely backfire.

McCourt was a decent villain though. He did well to attack the train and get the note in writing about the money. He was just a few minutes from succeeding which was impressive. The guy also tries to be a little more lenient on the hostage even if you can hardly call him heroic for that. He just sees Jeremiah as a big safety blanket in case things go south. The guy has a lot of backup plans at all times so I have to give him credit there. The plan was quite sound.

One character I didn’t care for much was the drunk villain. I think he’s meant to be endearing since he’s the only one who cares about Jeremiah and wants to help but I found him more annoying than anything. It seems like he got in with the wrong crowd by drinking a lot and at this point he doesn’t think that he has a way out. All right, that’s rough for him but he’s still sticking around anyway. He may have more of a conscience than some of the other villains but as long as he’s with the crew he can’t really take the moral high ground. Additionally, there are so many opportunities for him to run off with Jeremiah.

The villains leave them alone so may times in the film. Naturally he decides to make a break for it when the characters are all together so he is caught extremely fast. This is similar to Jeremiah as he always picked the worst times to make a fuss so the characters matched up well in that sense. Now why this film succeeds for me is because it’s a very long film that doesn’t feel too long. You’ll be engaged from start to finish on the adventure.

The reason for this is that it feels like something is always happening. Now these may be details that certainly could be skipped to save on the runtime but it’s still interesting enough to see. The writing is good so the characters are reasonable and we get some solid fight scenes here. At this point the film is completely a western adventure as opposed to being a gambling film (Not like I’d call the first film a full gambling experience either) but it’s executed well. There’s a good amount of replay value here as well since there aren’t any strong negatives holding it back. Throw out the one guy Brady recruited who ended up being a creep and this film would be even smoother.

Overall, This film did a good job following up on the first one. With the films getting longer and longer hopefully it can keep this momentum up. If the films ever jump the shark but remain 3+ hours then that could really be a painful experience. I like to think that the films won’t make that mistake though and maybe Brady will finally be able to get to the big championships in San Francisco next time. That could be the chance to finally have the film centered around gambling this time.

Overall 7/10

The Quick and the Dead Review

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This review is of the edited TV-14 version. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

The Wild West genre usually isn’t really my thing. It tends to usually squeeze in some animal violence with the horses and the setting isn’t as exciting as having a lot of cool buildings or things of that nature. A lot of the villains tend to be rather crude as well. This film does a good job of avoiding a lot of those possible errors by making this a tournament setting and the approach works well for the most part. Unfortunately the film stepped in one land mine near the end that shaved a few points off. It’s always rough when you trip right by the finish line.

The movie starts off with Ellen riding into town. She’s just in time for a big tournament that is held here as per tradition. The prize is a lot of money so Ellen enters but is money really all that she wants? Naturally the leader of the town John will be entering as well. His son “The Kid” decides to enter to prove to his father that he really is the best. Then you have Cort, a preacher who has renounced violence but is forced to enter. Then you have a bunch of other guys including the crude Eugene, the immortal Spotted Horse, Ace the bragger, and Clay a mysterious professional. This is one tournament that will involve a lot of fatalities so the heroes better be ready. You either land the first blow or it’s game over.

It’s been a while since I’ve watched a tournament film. Sure I’ve seen some tournaments but it’s rare that they take up the entire film. That was a good idea on the film’s part because who doesn’t like a tournament right? The gun fights are on point so each match is pretty exciting. The countdowns to the draw are dramatic as well. In effect the film managed to capture the most exciting parts of a Western while shedding the weaker elements.

There isn’t enough time to give every competitor a big role but they all stand out in their own ways. Take Ace. The guy brags a whole lot but you know that he is doomed once John reveals the truth of his past. The writing in the film is pretty solid for the most part with a lot of intense dialogue. Clay’s backstory is also intense as he’s a guy mostly wrapped in shadow whose skills are the real deal.

Then you have Spotted Horse who believes himself to be bullet proof. He also is very skilled with a gun so he makes for a powerful antagonist. The worst competitor here is Eugene by far. Unfortunately he wasn’t content to merely be a bad character and did drag the film down with him. He has a small subplot where he is going after a little girl in town throughout. Ellen steps in a few times but unfortunately can’t be everywhere at once and also has to save Cort at times.

Eugene ends up catching the girl and that plot’s just terrible. Eugene is quickly taken care of afterwards but the damage is done both to the film and to the characters in-universe. It’s the kind of dark plot/scene that is completely out of place here. We understand that this guy was a true villain and that the town’s an awful place to live. You don’t have to go out of your way to make things even darker. I would say that single handily took 3 stars off the score.

It’s the kind of scene that immediately destroys any possible replay value as well. It’s a shame because the tournament set up was so good but you really just can’t get past that kind of moment. Eugene should have just been cut out of the film if anything and just throw in a random minion or something for the next fight.

Then we have Cort who is a pacifist but that’s usually an annoying trait in these things. It means that the villains spend all film pushing him around and the guy can never really fight back. By the time he is ready to fight it’s not like he is really in a position to do so anymore. He’s a nice guy but it’s annoying to see him as a sandbag the whole time.

Next is the Kid and he made for a fun character. He’s definitely confident and this is well deserved with how good his gun skills are. In the film he can certainly compete with any of the other fighters. One scene that was a bit much though is when he has a one night stand with the main heroine Ellen. Considering that every scene prior to that was her talking him down or insulting him, it didn’t make any sense that things escalated like this.

It felt like a quick way to cram in some last second romance to check a box off but even then it’s more of an affair than a true romance. I dunno, the scene was just completely out of place and also felt out of character for Ellen. Definitely would have been good to leave that scene on the cutting block. All in all Kid was a charismatic fighter though.

Then there’s John who is the main villain here. This guy was a lot of fun. You can see where Kid gets his confidence from. John’s rules the place with an iron fist and fears nobody. That’s because he knows that he can take out any other fighter if he so desires. That’s the kind of confidence you have at the top and his skills never dulled.

Finally there’s Ellen. She’s a solid heroine who is all business. Ellen has a tough personality and doesn’t even entertain the other fighter’s ideas. She just wants to win the tournament. As you can probably guess it has more to do with her origin than the money. I do think that considering her true goal, she had dozens of opportunities to pull it off though. I suppose most of them would end up with her being dead afterwards but it didn’t seem like she really minded dying in the process. To an extent I suppose this is true for just about all gun films though where you figure they can just shoot the villain at any point.

Overall, The Quick and the Dead is a very different kind of Western film. The fact that there is a tournament at all is just pretty cool. The movie does a good job of juggling all the characters. I suppose the tradeoff is that the bigger the cast, the more likely you are to add one that messes things up which is basically what happened here. If you can get past that one scene and all the dark baggage it brings with it then it could be worth checking out but otherwise check out FF VII Advent Children instead for a movie that lands the ending while also having a large part take place in a wild west environment.

Overall 4/10

Catlow Review

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It’s time to look at an old western film. This one doesn’t take itself quite as seriously as the last few and sort of goes for a more classic LOTR adventure type feel instead. It works pretty well and this very nearly became the definitive western for me. Unfortunately it does fall into the animal violence trap by the end which was pretty unfortunate. Still, it does at least still succeed at being pretty entertaining from start to finish.

The film starts off with Marshall Cowan getting attacked by Indians. Just as he is about to be finished off his old friend Catlow shows up. It’s a mixed outcome for Cowan as he is glad to be saved of course, but Catlow is now a wanted man who has been stealing cattle and gold. Catlow’s defense is that he only steals unclaimed things which is true on a technical level, but the town is corrupt so Cowan still has to bring him in. They may have been the best of friends at one point, but right now their jobs are their top priority. This leads to both characters engaging in a back and forth fight where neither one will surrender. Catlow’s ultimate goal is to steal a massive shipment of gold so he can retire nicely while Cowan has to stop him. Meanwhile you have Miller who has a personal vendetta against Catlow and wants to end him. Who will come out on top?

I definitely liked the tone this film went for. The banter between the characters is great and they constantly get the other one to take a humiliating loss. Both Catlow and Cowan can hold their own scenes pretty easy. Even while threatening each other they manage to stay civil. At the same time, both of them are willing to push the trigger if it came down to that. There’s a lot of tension under the words they share which is interesting in itself. At the same time, they’ll also go out of their way to save the other. The film is filled with great moments like this and that’s why it’s a lot of fun. The film could have possibly gone on to be an 8 star title.

Alas, there are horses in this film as it’s a wild west. It’s always a red flag for me. There doesn’t necessarily have to be animal violence in these titles, but typically if you see a horse then you know what’s going to go down. In one of the fights with the Indians they specifically target the horses which was unfortunate. When that happens the film is destined to lose quite a few stars. It’s the number one mistake that most films make and this one was no exception. What makes it tragic is the fact that the film was solid otherwise.

As I mentioned, Catlow is pretty fun. He’s a smooth talker and is great at thinking outside the box. He handles the climax of the film exceptionally well as he gets to act like a sheriff. It was a pretty smooth move on his part. Meanwhile, Cowan may not have quite as sharp a wit as Catlow, but he is able to keep up pretty well. You don’t want to underestimate either one of these combatants. As for Miller, he’s a pretty fun main villain. I’d say his best scene is the first one he appears in. As with the main characters Miller does have a flair for the dramatic. He has fun toying with Catlow although he definitely did get pretty overconfident there and it cost him big time. Still a fun addition to the cast.

In that respect, Miller and Cowan continue to make the mistake of underestimating Catlow and his gang. They often have the thief on the ropes, but take so long gloating that he manages to get away. They seem to forget that he has a whole army of supporters backing him up. He’s also just got a bunch of connections like how every village seems to be under his thumb. I think it all goes back to his smooth talking ways. The lady with him also has a lot of influence. I do question how she managed to beat everyone to one village when they had such a huge head start, but that’s a head scratcher for another day.

There is one scene that really makes no sense though. It’s probably the one main moment that may throw off the immersion for you. Catlow and his gang infiltrate a kingdom and take down a huge chunk of the army one at a time. They wait until the sleepy soldiers are passing through a passageway and then lasso them. Catlow then knocks the guard out and they keep repeating this until they have them all. None of the guards think to yell and they all go down like chumps. Sure, they were sleepy and potentially drugged, but really? At first I thought the guards were all in on it, but they only pretended to be the main 2. The rest should have been able to do something. It’ll probably make you either chuckle or roll your eyes. As this film is mainly a comedy anyway I wouldn’t call it a negative. I don’t think the film meant for you to take it seriously anyway.

Overall, Catlow is definitely a very fun film. It’s probably the most enjoyable western that I’ve seen and the writing is absolutely on point. The main characters all do a great job at being entertaining when they’re on screen and the plot is sound. There’s really only one main negative here which is the animal violence and unfortunately it is absolutely killer. The film just couldn’t recover from this, but the important thing is that it came close. If you can stomach the horse stuff then this is definitely a film I’d recommend checking out. Otherwise check out a different one like Hang em High.

Overall 4/10