Far Haven

I'm sorry. I wanted to like this movie. It's awful. Obviously fans, friends and family of the cast are rating it much higher than it deserves. I don't think it's the fault of the cast as all are wonderful. The material is very poorly written and I don't feel the story conveys what they described in interviews. It's too much crammed into a short film. It jumps around. It's on the level of a cheaply made for TV movie. It's a hallmark feature with a happy ending. What it's not is a western. If you really like this film go watch True Grit, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Shane then come update your review.

It is a good low budget movie. I don't know what all the negative reviews expected. Good acting from the the lead stars. It's Got everything you want in a western. Beautiful horses, beautiful women, handsome men, gunfighting, barroom brawling, and a good message.

The movies portrayal of native Americans is very progressive and in my humble opinion, respectful.

I believe in the truth all the sets look very authentic and the costumes are well done. It's not The Good, the bad and The ugly, but it is exactly what it is.

It's a Hallmark Western. If you want something else, you're not going to like this this movie. My personal message to the studio is You make them. I'll watch them.

Probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Everything smacked of a cheap production, poor script, poor soundtrack and acting. Did not like the religious undertone, as if the movie was sponsored by a church group. They must have got a special on neckscarves as everyone seems to be wearing one. Most of the characters have crisp, clean clothes and replica Winchester Rifles that do not even look authentic.

The gunbelts and holsters appear to be new as if a leathermaker whipped up a bunch for the movie.

The "kid", Luke, looked so stupid with his Paul Newman Hat. It got to the point that we watchers could say what the characters were going to say before they said it.

Anyways, it was painful to watch and I am so glad I got it at the library for free and did not have to pay to see it. A classic example of the trash movies that are coming out today. The hero is supposed to be the strong silent type but came across as someone not very bright. Grrrrrrrr !!!!!!!

It felt like a Hallmark version of a western with not much of a script. The acting is barely there. The writing is nonexistent. You can easily figure out where the plot is heading; there's no mystery. Not a single curse word used I believe. There's no tension. Nothing to make me want to stay invested in the movie which I found myself almost falling asleep through several times. I can only imagine that this movie appeals to a certain group of people that it's aimed towards. Once again, no cursing, no sex and no nudity. The movie overall has almost a religious overtone. You have been warned! I wished I could reclaim the lost time I spent watching this thing.

Granted, while I am not overly fond of Western movies in general, I do sit down every now and again to watch one, when I happen to stumble upon one. And thus, I sat down to watch the 2023 Western "Far Haven" from writers Dustin Rikert and William Shockley, as I happened to have the opportunity to watch it here in 2024.

Sure, I had never heard about "Far Haven", so I wasn't really sure what I was in for, aside from it being a Western movie. However, I have to say that the narrative in the movie was so slow paced and sluggish that the movie never had a chance. The pacing of the narrative was sleep-inducing, and I have to admit that I ended up giving up on the movie 52 minutes into the 101 minute runtime. I just wasn't entertained at all.

And it didn't help the boring narrative that the characters were about as interesting as watching grass grow. The writers really botched this one.

There were a couple of familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of A Martinez, Martin Kove and Chris Mulkey. The acting performances were fair enough, despite the fact that the actors and actresses virtually had nothing to work with in terms of script, storyline and character gallery.

If you enjoy Westerns, then perhaps you might find something enjoyable to "Far Haven". But I sat down to watch it as a casual viewer, and not as a fan of the Western genre, so I found little of any worth in this movie. And I am not returning to attempt finish watching the movie, because I wasn't entertained by the storyline, or lack thereof, nor did I take a liking to any of the one-dimensional characters.

My rating of director Gary Wheeler's 2023 Western "Far Haven" lands on a two out of ten stars.