Simply A Masterpiece

Powerful

Excellent but underrated film

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Judging by the cast list, this looks like it was very much a family affair, with Barry Van Dyke in the lead role as bounty hunter Frank Allison, and his sons Shane and Carey portraying members of outlaw Lee Horn's (Geoff Meed) gang, Chris and Joe Beall. Financing for the movie was provided by Frank's dad, Dick Van Dyke, which had me searching my memory to recall if he ever appeared in a Western himself. Possibly one of the few big name celebrities who haven't done so.I didn't know anything about the production company, The Asylum, going in, and from reading other viewer comments it appears it's a cheapie film outfit that's had it's share of hits and misses. I didn't think this one was too bad, though it's routinely formulaic and pretty much a by the book Western effort. Sage Mears, who has the revenge seeking female role as Selina Stevens, has a look that one has to consider whether she's attractive or not, sort of like Sondra Locke in any number of her roles. For the most part I'd say she's pleasing to the eye, but not very credible as a female gunslinger, though I don't think that's the impression the director was trying to achieve. What she needed to do was pick up the gun and fire it straight ahead at a live target, which she managed to do successfully a couple times when it came time for the final showdownI did have to wince during a conversation Frank Allison had with Sheriff Barr (Greg Evigan) when they were discussing a location bordered by the Gila Trail. Both men pronounced the word as 'guy-la' instead of 'hee-la', as in Gila Monster. That was just such a bad pronunciation I had to laugh to myself. I mean, how could they get that one wrong in a Western.And speaking of Evigan's character, he was just such a wuss of a sheriff I didn't mind it too much when the bad boys mocked him before taking him out. That pretty much cut down the odds against Allison as five against one, let's say two if you count the inexperienced Selina Stevens. Allison had a good point about her being married to a former lawman and not knowing how to use a gun. Considering that Will Stevens (Brian Wimmer) didn't make much of a stand against Horn and his henchmen, I guess that wasn't a surprise. Fortunately, an element that didn't show up here was a clichéd romance between the embittered Selina and her gun slinging mentor, that would have made the story a lot harder to take.

All around a terrible movie; I started the movie with a positive attitude simply because its a western but as time went on it just got worse, but really what could you expect from a movie with a budget of just 100k. It was way too cheesy and predictable. The majority of the actors weren't great either. The story line seemed a bit stupid, the woman practiced for literally 2 days shooting and at the end was barely able to, then she goes straight into a gunfight resulting in her having to be saved, twice, then after its all over she goes onto become a professional bounty hunter? Seems a bit dumb considering she can't even shoot in the first place. Btw, killing the two kids at the start was stupid, movies seem to do this a lot just for sympathy and I think it's a terrible way to gain the viewers sympathy. Wouldn't give this movie anymore than a 3/10 because even with 3 I'm being a bit generous.

If you like good westerns then this is not one of them. It's a B-movie and not a good one. Should be catagorized as C-movie instead if that even exist. The whole movie is so low budget it's ridiculous when you know the Van Dykes are pretty wealthy. I was expecting Doctor Sloane to pop up any moment and solve the case himself. The actors are also pretty lame. Every dialogue is so predictable that a 10 year old could have written it. I don't even know why I watched this thing until the end. I guess it's because I watch 2-3 movies a day and I always want to finish what I started even if I have to suffer. And suffering I did. I won't call this thing a movie because that's an insult to other directors. Low quality, not even good enough to be a TV movie.

A through and through western revenge drama. Being filmed in 2010 do we expect more than we do from a classic like Hang 'Em High? Yes we do, and the film is lacking Clint Eastwood. Nonetheless taken at face value it's an hour and 30 minutes of overwrought entertainment. The woman protagonist who's family has been murdered, of course learns gun craft in less than the time it takes to bake a cake. Nice 20th century coins in the poker scene, BTW. The sheriff is a decent actor and gives the movie a bit of character, the bounty hunter is a stern father figure but is reaching. Almost all else is stilted and seems forced to a greater or lesser extent. Anyway, "bottles don't shoot back"..