Viewed in
2010
Formats
DVD
Premise
John Wayne stars as a curmudgeonly U.S. Marshall who agrees to help a teenage girl hunt down the man who killed her father.
Liked
The entertaining dialog.
Liked
The outdated feel.
Thoughts
It was a pretty good Western, hailing back to the old days when Wayne used to dominate.
The writing was pretty strong, as it took the time to get to know and care about the characters. Some of the best parts were Mattie using her brains to get what she wanted. There was also some fun dialog as the three main characters did not get along with each other throughout their journey. I liked that the violence was quite realistic and even the heroes did not waltz through gunfights unscathed.
Overall, the cast was likable. Wayne was still a presence, although his attempt at playing nasty flopped. Kim Darby did a good job being the tomboyish and testy Mattie. Singer Glen Campbell was solid. Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper appeared in minor roles.
The pace and sensibilities definitely reminded me of older films of the genre. Some scenes felt silly as they played out more like a sit-com. Those moments made for a weird contrast with realistic violence and modern cinematography.
I could not really compare this to other John Wayne movies, partly because I have not seen enough, and partly because he played it the same way in all of them. But I guess it was a pretty good western, as an odd mix of Wayne's presence, decent performances, fun dialog, a grittier story, and colorful scenery.
On the other hand, I could see why it was worth remaking four decades later.
What I would change
Not sure.
Random
Kim Darby played John Cusack's mother in Better Off Dead. That blew my mind.
