Angel and the Bad Man

Anyone who is expecting a word for word remake of the John Wayne classic Angel And The Badman will not be disappointed. With one glaring exception this Hallmark Channel remake sticks very close to the original story of a gunfighter reformed by a Quaker woman's love.

The exception is that instead of an innocent young unmarried girl as Gail Russell played in the original, Deborah Kara Unger is a widow with a young boy to raise which she is doing with her parents. She's a good woman, but even good women have their needs and when Lou Diamond Phillips as Quirt Evans literally lands on her doorstep, wounded after a gun battle, he gets her mojo going good and proper.

Wisely Lou did not opt for an imitation of John Wayne in his interpretation of the gunfighter. If he had he would have been laughed off the small screen. He's still one deadly individual and this screenplay make it clear just why Quirt Evans and Laredo Stevens as played by Luke Perry are fated to tangle.

The role of the marshal that Harry Carey played in the original is cut down somewhat, though Winston Rekert is effective in the scenes he does have. I liked the Carey character though, wish there had been more of the marshal in this one. The Wayne family put their imprimatur on this remake with the casting of the Duke's grandson Brendan Wayne as Randy McCall the sidekick to Phillips and played in the original film by Lee Dixon.

Probably important the Wayne family did that because the Duke's The Angel And The Badman was the very first film in which he not only worked on the production end, but also directed himself. Of the films John Wayne directed, that was far and away his best effort. So you can imagine the family had a big personal interest at stake.

I think even the hardest and most loyal of the Duke's legion of fans will not be disappointed with this version of The Angel And The Badman.

This is a remake of the classic 1947 John Wayne western about an injured gunslinger who falls in with good company in the form of some Quakers. Full of comedy and broad performances, the original includes some classic bits and a grand performance by Harry Carey Sr. at the end of his career. The people at Hallmark must have been hesitant to greenlight this production, but they manage to produce a pretty good movie as a result and on its own terms.

As with all good remakes, it takes the same material and spins it in a different direction. and the more serious tone of this version does work for the first half, when the contrast between Quirt's life and character is spoken about -- it's handled humorously in the original. Instead, the humor in this version is reserved for the section where Lou Phillips, as Quirt Evans, tries going back to his old life. The attempt to play comedy as Phillips grows more dissatisfied and disgusted with his fellow associates does not, alas, quite work.

It does remain a good character study, and among the supporting cast, a special note should be taken of Winston Rekert who plays the Harry Carey role -- a sheriff who had hoped to hang Quirt with a new rope. His is the toughest act to follow, and he manages it very nicely.

Whoever decided to remake this movie, should be taken out behind the woodshed. Not for remaking it, but for doing such an awful job. Casting Lou Diamond Phillips as Quirt Evans was the first mistake. He does a good bad guy, but is totally unconvincing as the love interest of a Quaker woman. And Deborah Kara Unger isn't much better as Temperance, she just doesn't come across well as a Quaker woman. There is just no believable spark or magnetism between the two.

You simply don't remake a John Wayne classic without putting the right actors in the right places. And in my mind, you just don't remake a John Wayne classic, period. The True Grit remake is an exception, it was well-cast and well done in every aspect. This movie just wasn't convincing. And for a color movie, it has too much of that modern mistake of trying to evoke some Hollywood-imagined atmosphere with toned-down colors. I suppose that is intended to focus us more on the characters, but all it did was focus us on the fact that the casting and acting was bad. I wouldn't recommend this sad excuse for a remake to anyone. And I am unbelievably puzzled by anyone who gives it a good review, I guess it doesn't take much to please people these days.

Nobody does it better. I repeat, NOBODY, does it better than The Duke. Don't bother watching this until you can see it for free. John Wayne is The Ultimate Cowboy! Nobody does it better! Nobody ever did it better! Nobody ever will do it better! To try and copy him is a fools errand.

If you wanna watch LaBamba, Lou Diamond Phillips is the perfect choice. If you wanna see teenage cowpunks go bad and shoot up town after town, he can get the job done. If you wanna see teenage punks screw up in high school and make the teacher look like an idiot, he's pretty good at that, too.

Remake a John Wayne film?!?!? NO WAY!

I am giving this a 10 because the voting score is unfairly low. Just to sum up I like movies such as Se7en, Old Boy, Fight Club, and Gypy 83. And this is a good movie.

Right away I was sucked into the atmosphere and cared about Diamond Phillips (Quirt). His acting in this movie is really good. Seriously underrated. Also the supporting actors are very good. The sheriff really sticks out in my mind when I say this. I'm am not writing about the story, you can read the description of the movie for that, but rather I decided to write about the feeling this movie gives people when they watch it. This is a hallmark film, something I am NOT used to watching, however I woke up one Saturday morn' and this was on. I saw Lou's and Luke Perry's name, and thought, "hmmm, if I don't like it in 5min I will watch ninja warrior or something", however I did not change the channel. this movie is not a sex driven, swear wording, extremely vulgar piece, but it reminds you of how a movie can be powerful and fun to watch with a little effort in iteration and translation. It is Enjoyable. I have read from others that Lou did a good job in redoing the classic in his own style, I have to say, though I did not see the original, I do not doubt that this may be better.