See on occasion, I will nip out to various towns and charity shop hunt and sometimes an offer will be too good to pass up. Just this past week I found myself in Salisbury (no I didn't try any of the local cuisine) and Romsey. While perusing an Age UK charity shop there, I stumbled over the rather enjoyable 'Solo' movie for a scant 99p. BUT WAIT! It was 3 for 99p so while umming and ahhing over various DVDs, I finally chose that, Parker and today's film Wyatt Earp.
So seeing as it's a Bank Holiday, why not dip into a quick western that's only....183 minutes long...Oh for fuck's sake...
WYATT EARP (1994 dir. Lawrence Kasdan)
What's he shooting at? The elements? Dumbass...
Why I watched it:
I like me some Westerns. I like me some Kevin Costner and usually, when you put the two together such as Dances With Wolves and Open Range, you've got a tasty combination.
I actually first came across Wyatt Earp in the autumn of 94 while holidaying in Poland. As the big release at that time, Warners were trying their darndest to promote the hell out of it and as such, I remember the posters being slathered all over Torun and vividly in the old train station there. The option to go and watch it was there, new releases in Poland often are kept in English but with Polish subtitles, but my love of westerns hadn't developed yet and I think a quick glance at the newspaper listings suggested it was freaking long anyhow.
Fast forward to 2019 and I'd seen most of the slew of the big modern Westerns that the late '80s to mid '90s had to offer, all bar one. In truth, there seemed little point to watch it as I'd watched Tombstone that all critics and fans had cited as the far superior Wyatt Earp movie. But I needed to draw my own comparisons finally and get the monkey off my back.
So after a car boot sale, a nap and a few other things, I set the laz-e-boy up and settled myself in for the long haul.
The review:
Well, it's not awful and I did manage to sit through it relatively easily, despite its length.
Don't get me wrong, I had a brief reprieve as this was printed on one of Warner's infamous 'flipper' discs. Meaning halfway through the film I'm instructed to get up and turn the disc over so that I could commence watching the film. This was good only for when they used to put 'Friends' on DVD the first time so they could fit more episodes on one disc. For films like Goodfellas and Amadeus, it was a pain in the ass.
To give the film its due, it looks lovely in parts, the sets look impressive and it's shot really well in places. It also boasts a rather impressive cast full of people you'll recognise including but not limited to: Kevin Mcallister's mom, Johnny Cage, The Lawnmower Man, Mr Blonde, Jethro Gibbs and the President of the USA when aliens attacked.
Special mentions do have to go to Gene Hackman, who plays the patriarch of the Earp family, who clearly realizes he's too talented to be in this film and although his character is never killed off, doesn't appear after the first act.
Also, Dennis Quaid, who is usually great in most things he's in, puts in a turn as Doc Holliday where he's clearly having fun and is one of the standout things in the film. Clearly getting to play Doc was a peach of a role as Val Kilmer proved (and is still the better portrayal).
So perhaps the most disappointing part of it is Kevin Costner, who fresh off an excellent turn in Clint Eastwood's, 'A Perfect World', sort of trudges through his portrayal of Wyatt Earp. He's not bad but it's a shame that this portrayal marked the downturn in his career which slowly started taking a downhill slope with Waterworld and The Postman. Whether he felt he owed Kasdan a favour for casting him in Silverado remains to be confirmed.
Essentially it feels more like 'The Life and Loves of Wyatt Earp', throwing in melodramatic romantic moments which clearly try to entice a female audience. That being said I doubt many women would respond yes to 'Hey honey, do you want to see the new three hour western with Kevin Costner in it?'
It feels overbloated and even I was beginning to roll my eyes toward the end wondering why the film hadn't reached its end yet.
Adding to the collection?
There are better three hours films to revisit by a country mile. Hell, there are better three-hour westerns to revisit than this.
I'm glad I watched it but it is far too long for what it is and Tombstone is much more fun...and shorter to watch if I ever want a fictional account of the Gunfight at the OK Corral.
As such it gets a 6 out of 10 from me and it rests upon the top of the trade pile.
Normal service should be resumed with the next flick.
Until next time, I remain,
Matt Major.
No comments:
Post a Comment