An action-packed sitcom Western that looks and sounds very clean, and has a “good old boy” attitude that reassures you that you will not be made to feel anything more profound than a friendly warmth in spending time with colourful characters. It’s Rio Bravo 2 with a lot of gags and gunfire.
My first impressions were: the 4K clean up job is exceptional - but also, is the whole film going to be like this? Coming to this after watching Once Upon a Time in the West is jarring. The styles couldn’t be more different. The Leone film, an operatic epic, the Hawks film, a workman-like exercise in tight plotting and whimsical repartee. The incredible work they did on the restoration is just emblematic of the slick prime time TV feel of it.
It is efficient in pacing, and in the timing and distribution of appropriate humour, action and romance beats. Actors come in and out of doors and stand in appropriate well-lit spaces. There’s no time wasted messing around with musical montages, pillow shots, or a piece of quiet time to process any emotion. Plus there’s a lot of logistics - a lot of “You get round the back o’ that barrel there so he can’t shoot ya,” and “make sure ya holler before you walk in.” It’s like listening to guys working in the yard.
The elevator pitch will sell it for most people, and for the most part it delivers: John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan and others, when they’re not busting each others’ balls, protect a town from local baddies. The shootouts are stimulating. There are chuckles. That is kind of it.
Worth a Look
An action-packed sitcom Western that looks and sounds very clean, and has a “good old boy” attitude that reassures you that you will not be made to feel anything more profound than a friendly warmth in spending time with colourful characters. It’s Rio Bravo 2 with a lot of gags and gunfire.
My first impressions were: the 4K clean up job is exceptional - but also, is the whole film going to be like this? Coming to this after watching Once Upon a Time in the West is jarring. The styles couldn’t be more different. The Leone film, an operatic epic, the Hawks film, a workman-like exercise in tight plotting and whimsical repartee. The incredible work they did on the restoration is just emblematic of the slick prime time TV feel of it.
It is efficient in pacing, and in the timing and distribution of appropriate humour, action and romance beats. Actors come in and out of doors and stand in appropriate well-lit spaces. There’s no time wasted messing around with musical montages, pillow shots, or a piece of quiet time to process any emotion. Plus there’s a lot of logistics - a lot of “You get round the back o’ that barrel there so he can’t shoot ya,” and “make sure ya holler before you walk in.” It’s like listening to guys working in the yard.
The elevator pitch will sell it for most people, and for the most part it delivers: John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan and others, when they’re not busting each others’ balls, protect a town from local baddies. The shootouts are stimulating. There are chuckles. That is kind of it.
Worth a Look
