So much average

Memorable, crazy movie

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Will Kane and wife Amy return to the town of Hadleyville one year after the events of High Noon. Yes, Will returns to a town that turned its back on him and left him to fend for himself against killers after everything he had done for the townsfolk. Why? Because he's going to buy some horses. A stupid contrivance that completely disregards the point of the first movie's story. Anyway, the town has since gotten itself a new marshal and he's not a nice guy. Will, of course, butts heads with him and decides to stick around town for awhile.A made-for-TV sequel to one of the greatest westerns of all time? This doesn't have disaster written all over it at all! I watched this with the same contempt as most people who saw the beloved original, but I did try to separate comparisons and view it as its own entity. That's pretty much the only way it can be enjoyed on any level. If you even think of Gary Cooper while watching this, you'll likely turn it off in disgust. As a sequel to a great film, it's a hot pile of garbage. As a story all its own with characters who just happen to share the names of those from the other film, it's a barely watchable, completely pedestrian affair, lacking any originality or complexity. It's like a pilot for a generic TV western from the '50s or '60s. It's directed by the guy who did Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land, another made-for-TV gem starring Lee Majors. The script is by Elmore Leonard, although I would never have guessed it. As far as the cast goes, Majors is wooden as ever, David Carradine hams it up as a superfluous character wanted for murder, and Pernell Roberts sleepwalks through his role as the villain. Katherine Cannon gets the unfortunate task of being in the Grace Kelly role. Talk about never being able to live up to a high standard.It's not a good movie. Yes, I'm taking it on its own terms and not comparing it to High Noon and, yes, I'm judging it on the level of a made-for-TV effort. It's STILL not a good movie. It takes some lame plot any viewer of old TV westerns has seen before and slaps the name of a classic film on it to try and get people to watch it. I have no idea if they were successful at that in 1980 but I hope not. Since we didn't get High Noon 3: Will Kane Strikes Back, I'll assume the public back then responded with the appropriate amount of scorn this deserves.

It's always been Hollywood's ongoing, unforgivable sin to make an unwanted sequel to a well-established classic. At some point the decision was made to try and make another story to High Noon; it seems almost like an impossible mission to completely mess this up - decent actors, gorgeous location, respectable if not a fantastic script... and... well, as I sit here and watch this film I regret to say this movie simply does not hold a candle. It does not hold a candle as most "forced" sequels do to ingenious films preceding them.All I can see in this movie is an aged Pernell Roberts who left 'Bonanza' for all the right reasons but his taste in scripts probably lead to such a stagnant career. Lee Majors doesn't quite impress and neither does Carradine; it would take until Kill Bill with Quentin Tarrantino to finally put the spotlight on him. Most of the acting falls flat and the story doesn't quite make up it's mind as to whether it should be about one person or several of them. In a two-hour time slot, that's not a good sign: if your characters still aren't quite relatable or memorable for a large chunk of my viewing time, why should I be watching this? This is a movie that tries so hard but it shouldn't have to. Maybe it is a good film compared to what most folks disagree with, myself among them, but I can't quite see what makes this particularly good. It feels more like an extended modern remake of Bonanza, the same show Roberts was trying to avoid. A pity. This movie shouldn't have low scores, but it does. Why? Someone decided to call it 'High Noon II'....had marketing not attached it to something better, maybe, just maybe, we'd all like this a little bit better than we do now.

Gary Cooper indeed. It's a Western Filmed in Tucson on the Old Tucson Movie Set. It's got its own sense of style to it that works. There's a plot that can be followed, although its somewhat predictable. But it was worth the watch. Believe Me, I've seen My share of stinkers & this one doesn't smell that bad. So for You to bash it makes no sense to Me. Why not let people decide for themselves? There's several classic Actors in this Movie. And Henry just so You'll know, Gary Cooper doesn't make Movies anymore because He's Dead! IMDb Says that My Review has to be longer, & that I'm not supposed to pad this. But the problem is they don't appreciate brevity. I said all I needed or wanted to say already! You can't force people to write more than what they wanted or needed to say. That's just not right!

I enjoyed the movie very much. I thought Lee Majors captured the essence of Will Kane better than Gary Cooper. David Carradine was great as a likable, not so bad, not so good, down on his luck guy, who wasn't real particular about the letter of the law. Bonanza's "Adam" was a particularly unlikable bad guy as the law officer who conducted himself and the duties of his office to satisfy his own personal greed and needs. The theme of a wrong, for which the good guy seeks recompense, was good and evident throughout the movie, as it evolved into a theme of "standing up to evil." Lee Majors was great as Will Kane, just trying to do right and finally not being able to walk away from evil, knowing he had what it takes to fight it.