Os Gatões 2: O Início

It seems a lot of people recall the original series through rose coloured glasses, forgetting that it was the bad acting and corny storylines that made it fun. This was far closer to the series than the Knoxville/Scott disaster and the one real fans will prefer.

If anyone truly remembers the Dukes of Hazzard TV show from the late 70's and early 80's, this review will ring true with them. The TV show was about good wholesome entertainment for the entire family, with nary a swear word. This movie was clearly made to cater to teeny boppers and idiotic adults with nothing better to do than watch pointless junk on the television. This has nothing to do with the 'beginnings' of the Dukes. It is set in modern day times, with horrible casting and a misuse of Willie Nelson. In the original show, Boss and Jesse Duke were moonshiners from the '20s. By this standard, they would be moonshiners from the mid-80's. Give me a break. Please don't waste your time! And Warner Brothers, please stop using the Dukes in your craptastic films! Let them rest in peace!

Growing up The Dukes of Hazzard was one of my favorite shows. The cast had charisma, and the show had an authentic, country feel to it. The 2005 movie was part of the "re-imagination" trend in movies that started with The Flintstones and continues today with this atrocity. Instead of re-imagining them in today's times they should have cast the younger Dukes in the 1960's when they would have been legit teenagers, to keep in continuity with the show. They should have done this with the 2005 movie, too. This movie is a cynical, straight-to-DVD-and-TV, bottom-of-the-barrel hack job and it barely held my attention.

The problem with the plot is that it's a low-rent version of the TV show. Aren't there any writers in Hollywood who can write an original Dukes of Hazzard movie? My guess is there are plenty, but the producers have too much contempt for their audience to think they would appreciate a gritty, true-to-the-spirit-of-Hazzard script. Fans of the original series shouldn't avoid it because of profanity, they should avoid it because it is Dukes of Hazzard in name only now.

The most important thing to me is the casting of Daisy, and they failed miserably here. In the series Daisy was a smart woman who happened to wear cut-off shorts. In 2005 she was a sexpot wearing cut-off shorts, nothing more than eye candy, playing the part as a parody. There's little to say about April Scott: she isn't even close to being a young Daisy in this movie. I'm not talking about physical proportions (although I think she's too thin for a southern Belle); I'm talking about charisma and the intangibles you need to play an iconic character. She doesn't have it.

The lameness extends to all aspects of the re-imagining. The characters have become lame caricatures of themselves, and Hazzard County is no longer the dusty, mythical Confederate backdrop it once was. There's no point in "re-imagining" the Dukes of Hazzard if you're going to get politically correct. The original series was uncynically proud to be Dixie, and that was a huge part of it's appeal. If this movie is a finger-in-the-wind to see if a new TV series will work, I hope it fails miserably in ratings and sales.

And Willie, did you really need the paycheck?

I can't lie I have the complete dvd collection of the original series. This film actually made me giggle and I am not mad. Bo and Luke actually seem a bit more mature and likeable than the 2005 film. Although he seems a little bored at times Willie Nelson has done this type of character so many times he could have dyed his hair salt and pepper and pulled it off in the original series. If you want confirmation that this film is just fine to stand with the beloved series please watch the 2 Dukes of Hazzard reunion films and holler back. Best bonus is watching vintage shots from the original General Lee being chased that by the end I did not care.

I didn't like this movie at all. It was almost like watching some crappy teen movie. Just horrible and would not recommend. Only giving the stars out to willie Nelson who's great and the car was awesome as always.