Cowboy Up

"Cowboy Up" revolves around a contemporary rodeo bull-rider (Thomas), his family, and friends. Earnest in purpose with good art and technicals, this flick (aka "Ring of Fire") fizzels on story. The central character is a stoic, brooding, self-centered, self-destructive guy haunted by patriarchal issues making it difficult to really care about him and how the film plays out. The film is also fraught with inconsistencies such as Sutherland telling his brother not to ride of it will kill him and later telling him he'll be fine....etc. "CU" may have some entertainment value for those interested in rodeo though serious cowboys will likely scoff at this clumsy story and be disappointed in the minimal amount of actual rodeo action in the film. Best saved for broadcast. (C-)

Hi, i´m rather new, at this.

Anyway..... I think the movie is better than i first, expected it to be. It has a great sound, the acting is average, except for Sutherland, who remains, to give a good performance everytime. The direction is also okay...i guess. The only thing i'm a bit disappointed in, is the fact that Sutherland's part seems to fade a bit, (or maybe it's just me). I was surprised by the performance on Pete, who plays the father, he has in this movie, a great American accent. Anyway, just my opinion.....you're more than welcome to Critisize my comment, on this movie. So i bought the movie for 10 Danish kroners, which is about 1,5 bucks, so.... a cheap, movie that holds the average!!

I gave this a 6. I simply can't quite figure why people are gushing about the writing. Redford has only written 2 scripts, some TV, and something else. I felt the writing and script were the major detractors here. The cinematography was superb, but the film lacked inspired direction. This made for a tight, pro, looking film but otherwise constructed on air. It's a character study under the hood and the character we're studying is a silent, aloof type. Woops. This just screams pet-project of Sutherland's. I don't have a Pro account but I'd bet Sutherland spent his own money on this. Marcus Thomas was a brilliant casting move though and he really looked the part.

Lastly, bull-riding in general is a sore point amongst many pro-cowboys. It's a zero skill affair that has it's roots in exhibition. Pro cowboys seriously resent the intermission entertainment stealing the show. I noticed too that there were no pick-up men being depicted. Odd that. It's a PRCA regulation. Professional Bull Riders (PBR), on the other- hand, I don't think use them so there's that.

While I did like this movie I thought the ending was both graphic and gruesome. That part of the movie traumatized me along with the fact that, really, who wants to see Kiefer Sutherland getting it? Marcus Thomas was a bit forced in the role of Ely Braxton although I could have seen him being a cowboy if his acting had been a bit more relaxed. It was good to see Molly Ringwald in a role other than the movies that she is truly known for. Darryl Hannah was just okay for me in the role of Celia. I think I enjoyed Kiefer Sutherland and the idea behind the movie more than some of the actors in the movie. I would definitely watch this flick again if only for Kiefer.

OH come on...it wasn't THAT bad. I actually liked Keifer Sutherland in this role. He seemed more human and down to earth than anything I've seen him in lately. Not hyped up like he does when he plays a villian or in 24. Newcomer Marcus Thomas did a very good job. I was surprised to find out he was from Belgium!!

Ok.. so it was not an accurate movie, which ones are...TRAINING DAY??? DARK BLUE???? Good god...8 SECONDS???!!!!

And I LIKED Darryl Hannah in ths one. Even Molly Ringwald did the best she could. It definately needed more scenes like the one with Marcus Thomas and Pete Postlewaite. Ok, so Mr. Redford still has to work on writing skills, and character development, but this was still entertaining. No, its not JUNIOR BONNER but then that was a Sam Peckinpah film and ya can't get better then that!!