Sadly Over-hyped

Instant Favorite.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This tries to be one of those "two-fisted" action movies with a tough, cynical hero who smokes and drinks and who verbally spars with sultry blondes before throwing them on the bed. The fact that there's little actual violence or sex in the proceedings is disappointing but not fatal. After all, some movies get by quite nicely with little more than strong characters and sharp dialog. Unfortunately, the characters and dialog in "Ragan" are so routine as to put the movie into the "forgettable time-killer" category. It isn't really bad but there's not a single zesty moment in the entire movie... nothing at all to linger even briefly in the memory. Ty Hardin, at the start of his career slide, manages to anchor the movie but he's given little to work with and seems content to merely speak his lines and collect his paycheck. He is, however, afforded three opportunities to show off his bare chest which, even at age 36 or so, still looks good enough to put on a menu. In one of these scenes he's shown to be wearing white briefs. Funny, one would have thought Ty to be a "boxers" kind of guy.