Year of Release: 1985Country of Origin: USA
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Cast: Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, Danny Glover
Plot outline: A group of misfits try to bring justice to a small Western town (IMDb).
This big budget movie bombed at the box office. Big Chill director and Raiders of the Lost Ark writer Lawrence Kasdan tries to make up for all its deficiencies that include being overlong, clichéd and having a rambling story, by keeping it exuberant. It covers the following usual Western happenings: a saloon fist-fight, multiple shoot-outs, incident over a stolen horse, a stampede, a house burned down, a jail break, a corrupt sheriff working with a greedy cattle baron, the climactic gun duel between the villain and unlikely hero and the heroes parting ways at the end to ride off in the sunset. Though entertaining in spots, visually splendid, showing a love for the Western genre and with its action sequences well choreographed, it still lacks any dramatic edge to hold one's interest for over two hours. The movie has what could be considered a series of pseudo climactic shoot-outs throughout until, thank heaven, the final forced one clears the town of the baddies. After the dust clears, the cuddly good guy Paden (Kevin Kline) decides to tie the knot with the widowed idealistic pioneer woman Hannah (Rosanna Arquette) and remain in town as the new sheriff; while the noble Mal (Danny Glover) rides further west with his sister (Lynn Whitfield) and the adventurous brothers (Scott Glenn and Kevin Costner) ride for California seeking further thrills. Jeff Goldblum has a turn as the slimy, dandified, and backstabbing gambler; while Linda Hunt is the diminuitive tough-minded wise saloon manager who is threatened by the corrupt sheriff Cobb (Brian Dennehy). This was Costner's breakthrough movie, and his merry role propelled him into stardom. (DS)
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
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