Hatfields and McCoys: Bad Blood

This movie is awful. The acting is all around horrendous. Frank Phillips struggles with his accent very noticeably. The few recognizable actors in this film must really be hurting for work. These were supposed to be Appalachian hill folk, but you get clean cut pretty boys with brand new, pristine, clean clothing, gelled hair, and even designer jeans in a few scenes. The first 5 minutes of this movie, a Civil War battle scene, are just terrible, and pretty much set the bar for the rest of the movie. It looks like it was cast with overweight man boys straight out of comicon who jumped at the chance for a reenactment. Indoor scenes have doors open to blank green screens, too. This movie isn't worth the hour and a half of your life - not even for laugh content.

Maybe this movie suffered from the misfortune of my already having seen Kevin Costner's version of the Hatfields and McCoys because it caused me to want to learn more about the events that actually occurred. Sadly, this version failed to make it even to "B" status. This version was so pared down that they messed with a lot of the facts: -Johnse Hatfield did not stay with Rosanna McCoy but under pressure from his family abandoned the relationship. He later married her cousin Nancy McCoy who then left him for Bad Frank Phillips -Randall's wife did not get killed when the house was attacked by Jim Vance; she was driven insane -Ellison Hatfield was not stabbed by two McCoy's but 3 (Tolbert, Pharmer and Bud), who were all then summarily shot by Jim Vance and company upon his death -Bad Jim Vance was not killed by Anse but by Frank Phillips I could go on but I think you get the point. The ending with Johnse showing up with a pregnant Rosanna was just the icing on the cake, trying to have a happy, fairy tale ending where they are one big happy family. The best thing about this version is that they did NOT extend the movie to go onto other events such as Floyd Hatfield's hog, Cottontop being hanged for Alifair McCoy's murder, the Battle of Grapevine Creek, etc.

As far as the acting went, there were no winners here. A lot of the dialogue seemed forced and it failed to stir the least bit of emotion in me to identify with anything the characters went through. Given the choice between the two, go with the Costner version every day of the week.

Where do I even start with this movie. This movie was so bad and wrong from the start. Asa McCoy was Randells brother not son. As a Hatfield myself I know the history between the Hatfield n McCots fued. It was really hard to watch this movie. There wasn't much that was correct in this movie. It needs to be moth balled. I have always like Fahey as an actor but I might have a hard time watching him in another movie again. The story about Johnse Hatfield and Rosanna McCoy is the furthest from the truth. I wonder what the writers, directors and producers were thinking when they filmed this movie. I don't believe they cared at all about the truth. This would be better as a comedy than a drama. It is evident that no one researched the history of this fued. The more I watched it the funnier it got. I'm surprised that the movie got the states right for each family. I can't understand how come some of these actors took these roles. Of course I do have to give the writers credit for having Asa McCoy as Yankee during the Civil War. I guess I forgot about that.

To enjoy this movie, first, disregard any facts you may possess about the Hatfields and McCoys and, second, release any expectations of realism. Then just take the ride. I did appreciate the acting, the Kentucky scenery, and the wonderful music. I thought Jeff Fahey and Perry King were very good as the family heads. This is not the real story of the feud, but it is a story. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It makes sense and is easy to follow--because it is a condensed, pared-down, dummied-down, made-for-TV kind of movie. It uses the bare minimum of family members, relationships, and events. Don't bother comparing it to the outstanding Kevin Costner mini-series. Just take it for what it is, and you might see it as the hour and a half of escapism that it is. Not terrible. . . .

"I don't plan to out gun them, I plan to out kill them." After a son of Anse Hatfield (Fahey) is attacked by a member of the McCoy family a feud is begun. The Governor of Kentucky (Slater) sends his deputy Frank Philips to try and stop the fighting before its too late. I will do my best not to be biased on this one, but I did watch the History Channel series before this one. For some reason there are a lot of movies that come out that are very similar back to back. Examples like "Deep Impact" & "Armegeddon", "Tombstone" & "Wyatt Earp", "Mirror Mirror" & "Snow White and the Huntsman". This one is no exception as this one is released less then a week after the Costner one aired. Of all the movies I listed there is always one that is way better then the others. Unfortunately this is the lesser of the two Hatfield movies. The budget and acting aside the stories are so unlike the other that I have no idea which one is right. While the Costner one made me want to learn more about the history of the fight this one just made me want to watch the other one again. Overall, maybe if I saw this one first my opinion may be different but the History channel series was a hundred times better. I give it a C-.