Desolation Canyon

Desolation Canyon is a great movie; however, don't watch it if you don't have an appreciation for movies or only see the worst in everything. I would imagine that those posting negative comments on this movie simply don't understand thoughtful writing and would be more receptive if the writers broke the mold of a western and never got it produced. If you enjoy Westerns with a little bit of thinking and a feeling of a good old fashioned moving picture, you will enjoy Desolation Canyon. If you enjoy your movies to have super-heroes, crazy special effects and astronomical budgets, you will NOT enjoy Desolation Canyon.

I happened upon this modern traditional Western by accident, and it turned out to be well worth watching, indeed, a movie that I would watch again...and again. The plot is a good one, with a number of quirks that keep one involved and wondering what just might happen next. I found the script writing to be terse and believable. Duffy and Keach work well together, and, in fact, the entire cast does well. Photography is almost entirely outside, with good shots of mountainous scenery and good camera work. Additionally, this is a movie that you can watch with the entire family, without fear that over-the-top "adult" situations will mar the viewing. I hope that it will show up on DVD.

I thought it was pretty darn decent western. I've seen a lot worse. I thought there were some great comedic moments. Edwin being a "rooster" was funny. I love Duffy and Steach. The woman who played the mom couldn't act her way out of a paper bag but otherwise, good entertainment.

It may not be awarded as a "classic western", but this is a great flick. Albeit simple dialog (to help those woke kids understand what a western is), Keach and Duffy make a great team. Edwin the Eastern wimp turns out to have more grit than anyone expected.

If you are a good-old-boy like me who enjoy's westerns, and want to see one not repeated over the last 40 years, this will not dissapoint.

If you are a anal movie critic and do not care about the "spirit of the west", and western movies in general, then skip it and go get an ice-cream with Joey-Biden. A good movie doesn't have to "rate" with critics to be a good movie, lol.

Desolation Canyon is a western that takes some of the themes from the John Wayne classic Big Jake and develops them a bit further. In fact it's quite the family tangle for Stacy Keach who essentially plays the Duke character and admirably fills his boots.

Some outlaws come to the town where Patrick Duffy is the sheriff and his old partner Stacy Keach lives in retirement and raising his two grandkids. The outlaws include his son who is the father of the grand children and on the way out of town grab the boy Drake Johnston.

The boy's mother Kelly Overton is divorced from the son Victor Browne and she's keeping company with David Rees Snell the town banker who is nearly killed in the robbery. He's an Easterner and insists accompanying Duffy and Keach.

In fact when the final showdown comes it's almost a relief because for what should be a straightforward story, the plot has an incredible amount of twists and turns. There are a couple of bounty hunters also on the trail with their own agenda, the outlaws have one aside from the robbery, it's all a bit hard to follow.

Still the players do very well in an extremely and needlessly convoluted story.