Dallas: War of the Ewings

An awful film. Usual plot, usual characters, but fewer of them. The stars have aged somewhat, except perhaps Patrick Duffy who still looks almost as well as his days in "the man from Atlantis". Many scenes make the film laughable, such as the shoot out with the rustlers. J.R. is up to his usual tricks but doesn't quite have the meanness of the old days. This might as well have been just another episode in the Dallas series. If you like laughing at B class movies, or you are a Dallas die-hard, then this is a film for you! My vote: 2.

This is an extremely poor movie with a very weak plot and an ageing cast - not that age is necessarily a bad thing, but surely the most logical thing to do would have been to include some of the next generation Ewings to support the old stalwarts. Although Linda Grey (Sue Ellen) still looks fabulous for a woman of 50-odd and Patrick Duffy (Bobby) hasn't changed much apart from some grey hairs, the main character, Larry Hagman's J.R., is looking very old and jaded now. My main beef with this movie, apart from the lack of new blood and poor plot, was the very small cast. Southfork is decidedly empty these days, and having Sue Ellen living back there at all and on (almost) friendly terms with J.R. is, to my mind, stretching credibility to the limit, even by the standards of U.S. soaps. Let's hope that if there are any more Dallas reunion movies, the makers will have the good sense to include some younger blood - why not bring J.R.'s son John Ross (who'll now be well into his 20s) back as a younger, even more evil, nasty version of the old J.R.? After all, he was an obnoxious, spoilt brat in the original series, and that would be a logical progression. As for this movie - don't bother unless you've absolutely nothing better to do.

Unfortunately this latest and currently last installment in the "Dallas" story brings an uncertain close to a great show. Dallas never got a proper ending and a lot of things were left untold. Worst of all this show offers nothing new to the series which once was so interesting and unique. On top of this it lacks the edge of the original episodes. Theres not much nastiness from JR. Hes more of a soft hearted old man now and thats not what we want. While there is a plus to womens rights which makes the film modern Sue Ellen is not even barked at by JR. Everybody seems to be friends except for a surprise appearance from Ray Krebbs whose feelings towards JR have not changed.

To really set the record clear what makes this really terrible is the lack of cast. Never did "Dallas" have so few stars. Just Ray, JR, Bobby, Carter and Sue Ellen. Wheres the rest of the best? Miss Ellie, Clayton, the kids, Jenna, Afton, Donna and most of all Cliff Barnes. Having no Cliff Barnes in the show is like having no Starsky in "Starsky and Hutch". JR and Cliff were the strength of the show and because hes nowhere to be seen, the film flops and it did exactly that with ratings and critics.

A third reunion movie should certainly be made but with a better writer. It needs to be fast, captivating, daring, wicked and entertaining. We need a surprise. A cliffhanger just like the end of each season. Pamela Barnes should be written back in because she was also an important link between the Barnes and the Ewings. Orignally we were meant to think she died but we actually never saw her die other than stroll off into the sunset.

"Dallas: War Of The Ewings" is strictly for fans only but it only keeps you waiting for some more, something better especially since we never got a definite finish!. With a Dallas remake movie around the corner and no reunion TV movie even rumoured for 2003 (the 25th anniversary of "Dallas") things look grim. Larry Hagman was a brilliant actor and was the only person anyone could see playing JR Ewing. He still entertains here despite his softer side and its nice to see progress in Sue Ellens life as she and Bobby take hold of the reins of Ewing Oil.

I am a huge "Dallas"-fan, but this movie is just not good enough. Silly one-liners, the acting and direction seems rushed and contrived. And don't get me started on the story, or should I say lack of the same. The first reunion movie "JR Returns" at least had a decent script and some good and entertaining parts, but this time it just didn't work. The title is a misnomer as well, there are hardly any Ewings left on Southfork. JR, Bobby and Sue Ellen. One thing I DID like though was the updated opening titles. Classy! I liked the shot of J.R in the helicopter. If they had used the original "Dallas"-font i would have been perfect, but I guess you can't have it all.