The Highwayman

I dont know why I watched this to the end. I think I was hoping it would get better

It had absolutely nothing to do with the story of Dick Turpin. If you didn't know anything about Dick Turpin before watching this film you'll still have absolutely no idea by the end.

The whole film is totally predictable and you know what's going to happen from the beginning.

It is supposed to be romantic there is absolutely no sexual tension between the leads.

The female lead was absolutely terrible seen better amateur dramatics. Over acting and the gasp and hand to the mouth is hilarious.

Honestly don't even bother that's an hour and half of my life I'm not getting back.

Anyone remember "Carry On Dick" (1974)? Well it's probably got more going for it than this lacklustre drivel. It's Morgan Rees-Davies who takes up the mantle of England's legendary highwayman who finds himself in hot water after he inadvertently kidnaps the daughter of the Earl of Pembroke (Steven Dolton). Now we're not quite sure who has got the worst of this captivity, for "Elizabeth" (Mollie Hindle) is no shrinking violet. Indeed she rather relishes the freedom and excitement of a life devoid of corsets and curtsies. Meantime, her duplicitous fiancé "Winthroppe" (Tom Hendryk) is out to fleece her rather penniless and clueless father so he can take over their house under which might be some lucrative mines, and, well... Most of the swash and buckle here is left to the Aiden Turner-esque Ciaron Davies in the role of "O'Reilly" and to be fair to him, his is really the only thing remotely close to engaging here. It might have looked good on paper after a few yards of ale, but on screen this is a poorly conceived concept that doesn't really deliver on any level. The acting skills are basic, delivering some dialogue that rather optimistically tries it's hand at the odd bit of black humour before an ending that would have made Sid James look like an Oscar winner. Good story, strong theme and plenty of opportunity - instead we get a weak and listless drama that struggles to make it to ninety minutes.

Right, well as I stumbled upon this 2022 adventure movie from writer and director Steve Lawson, I was immediately reminiscing having sat and watched the 1979 series "Dick Turpin" when I was a child, and remembering it fondly, of course I opted to sit down and watch "The Highwayman".

Well, I just never did get into the atmosphere of this 2022 movie from Steve Lawson. There was just something fundamental missing from the movie. It was a combination of a lack atmosphere and props that just never brought about the right feel of the era, and a good dose of the storyline being rather mundane and the characters equally mundane. So it was not a great movie experience to watch "The Highwayman".

The storyline told in "The Highwayman", as written by Steve Lawson, just never caught on with me. It was too simplistic and lacking ingredients that would sweep me off of my feet and take me out on the rugged roads of old Britain. So it was a bland narrative that didn't have much of any force or momentum to carry it.

I am sure that the casting choices for "The Highwayman" were adequate, but the actors and actresses had so little material to work with, that they were struggling to keep afloat. A shame really, because I doubt that the actors and actresses here were inadequate. They just simply didn't have the tools available for a monumental performance.

For a historical adventure then "The Highwayman" was very flaccid. It is not a movie that I would recommend you waste your time, money or effort on. Some of us did, so you don't have to.

My rating of "The Highwayman" lands on a three out of ten stars. Sadly, the movie's cover/poster was actually the best thing about the entire experience.

The fun starts in the opening scene. The Highwayman hero, brandishing a flintlock pistol, stands in the road as a coach approaches. As the coach comes into view, the highwayman fires his pistol into the air (a warning shot, no doubt) then he points the pistol at the coach and demands, "Your money or your life!" He has already spent his load! 18th century flintlocks were not repeating firearms. What kind of highwayman threatens a victim with an empty gun? THIS kind of nonsensically written, low-budget, poorly acted highwayman is the kind of hero that almost entertains in this shoddy piece of almost funny escapism.

The film makers try hard but just do not achieve Ed Wood standards of humor. The sets are a bit too tidy, and the actors lack that sense of devotion to the material despite the odds that could have made this a true gem, like say, Beretta's Island. Rather, it just muddles along, content with its own mediocrity, failing to rise to the genuine entertainment of a truly bad movie.

Writer and director Steve Lawson produces a rare light-hearted film from his growing stable. Known for slim-budget, mainly studio-bound, dialogue-heavy productions, there is more location work and physical stuff going on here. As with most of his output, I found this very enjoyable.

Morgan Rees-Davies plays Turpin, here revealed as a scoundrel and trouble-maker, and not a very successful highwayman. The books about him, he admits happily, are heavily exaggerated. The hapless Elizabeth (Mollie Hindle) finds this out to her cost, her initial dislike of him inevitably melting as the film goes on.

This is a nicely paced adventure, not quite the bawdy romp it might have been, although lines like "I'm looking for Dick," and "Yes, I'll bet you are," ensure we're never encouraged to take things too seriously. My score is 7 out of 10.