La première chevauchée de Wyatt Earp

So the tale of Wyatt Earp gets a 21st century makeover. Perhaps best described as Wyatt Earp: The Early Years, this movie details an adventure in the life of the young (late 20-something) Wyatt, and is narrated by an older Wyatt (Val Kilmer - who did a fine job of playing Wyatt's sidekick Doc Holliday in Tombestone waaay back in 1993) Featuring a cast of young guns including Shawn Roberts as Wyatt and Matt Dallas as Bat Masterson the film is good clean fun set against the backdrop of the violent west. Playing out like a modern version of the B-western oaters that used to be a cinema staple, it'll be a hard hearted viewer indeed that can't find something positive to say about this flick. True, it looks low budget and appears to have come from a different era of comic books and B-movies, but that's part of the joy. Everyone involved seems to be having a blast from country star Trace Adkins to dastardly bad guy Daniel Booko as Adkins wayward son. Other noteworthy performances include David O'Donnell, Levi Fiehler and a brief but memorable performance from Brian Groh as Confederate Jones, which leaves you longing for the bit part character to get his own movie. While not in the same league as My Darling Clementine, Gunfight at the OK Coral or even 1990s efforts Tombestone and the Wyatt Earp, the yarn is sufficiently entertaining to make you glad they bothered to make it. One is just left longing for some appearances by old time western stars such as Harry Dean Stanton and LQ Jones in these modern day oaters.

When someone says "straight to DVD" that invokes a certain "image" about a film, and this movie embodies it perfectly. Small budget, virtually unknown cast, simple story... pretty much everything you'd expect. But that's not to say it doesn't have good points too: Val Kilmer as an elder Wyatt Earp does a fine job and has several genuinely touching moments. Wilson Bethel steals his scenes as Doc Holliday, taking a hilarious and memorable turn as the character Kilmer himself made famous. (And Kilmer as Doc fans will appreciate that Bethel seems to be playing from the former's play-book - down to using Kilmer's more memorable lines.) There are some truly lovely vista shots (as one would expect from any western worth it's salt) and a few honestly funny comedic moments.

Down the downside, I do wish Trace Adkins had gotten more scene time and the script could have definitely done with a bit of a cliché overhaul.

Overall, I'd say it does a fine job at being exactly what it is - a straight to DVD Western; nothing more and nothing less.

Overall I enjoyed the movie, there were a few rough acting spots....But the story was good and believable.

What bothered me was the setting. If you are making a movie about Dodge City, or Western Kansas, please be aware that it is FLAT. The foot hills, green fields, vistas, etc., are all beautiful in this movie. However, there isn't a single hill in Western Kansas, it is as flat as a piece of paper, and dirty, dry and brown. With scenery this mismatched it was a little hard to believe the movie was supposed to be set in Dodge City and surrounding counties.

Other than the poor location shoot choice, and some awkward acting at times -- Overall, I enjoyed the movie. It's worth a watch.

Wow. This movie was a turkey. I've been collecting every film ever done on Wyatt Earp, and each one in its on way has a greatness to it. Until now.

Truthfully, I only bought 'Revenge' to complete the collection. Why? This video has turkey sign all over it:

1) It was made after 'Wyatt Earp' and 'Tombstone'. Those movies set the bar so high one would have to wonder why anyone would bother remaking the Earp story for quite a long time.

2) It has Val Kilmer playing Wyatt Earp. 'nuff said.

3) The title alone casts suspicion.

Once into the movie you notice all the things the other reviewers have commented on. Nice looking costumes... but they look like they just came off the rack. The titles stated the movie was based on a real event. Key word there is "based on", if even that much is true. I also didn't like the way they handled the rape of the prairie wife. The whole scene with that family was stretched to the point that the story turned into a (bad) horror flick. But maybe I'm just a sissy.

What to watch instead of this gobbler? ANY other Wyatt Earp film. Even the 1983 made-for-TV Earp flick with Marie Osmond, 'I Married Wyatt Earp', is better than this. Far better. Far far better.

As I write this review a new Earp film is in production starring Harrison Ford as Wyatt. Hmmm. Gotta go. I think I have a turkey in the oven to check on.

Apologies to Deadwood for any comparison. If you're just going to wave a western in front of a camera, a viewer has to ask the valid question - what's the point? Apparently all involved with this enterprise thought that superficial pretense could carry the day and ridin' around 'n ominous music would convey all ya need to know about some sort of story. The casting was positively ludicrous. Every one of the twenties something pampered southern Cal principles here looked fresh out of a shower and the makeup trailer, and I'm telling you, dentistry in the late 1800s must have been pretty cutting edge with all those pearly whites on display. A very lame and uninteresting production that wasn't even worthy of having Val Kilmer snoringly narrate the tale with innumerable pregnant pauses, but maybe having Timothy Olyphant and John Hawkes lookalikes was supposed to make up for all it's low budget deficiencies. A real poser. Bleh.