Movie Reviews for The Quick and the Dead

The Quick and the Dead

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Movie Reviews of The Quick and the Dead

Movie Review: An uneven retread of "Shane"
Summary: 3 Stars

Sam Elliott seems to have been born to play a cowboy, but this made-for-cable outing is not his finest Western effort. The movie is a fairly obvious retelling of the storyline found in the Western classic "Shane": a mysterious drifter helps a pioneer family that is being terrorized by a gang of outlaws. The fact that even a great movie like "Shane" had its flaws (Shane rides across miles of mountainous country into town and the boy follows him all the way on foot?!?!) doesn't bode too well for any imitators ("Pale Rider", Clint Eastwood's take on this storyline, wasn't anywhere near to being his finest Western either).

A previous reviewer stated that the good guys are clearly good and the bad guys are clearly bad in this movie. That's true for everybody except Elliot's character, Con Valian. While Valian clearly helps the McKaskel family, for most of the movie he seems to be doing so in order to win away Susanna McKaskel from her husband. Only at the end of the movie, in order that our flawed hero might come out on top, does he grudgingly give respect to Duncan McKaskel and realize that he should not try to break up his family. Con Valian is quite a departure from the usual honorable-to-the-utmost Louis L'Amour cowboy hero.

In spite of the questionable moral character of the hero he portrays, Elliot is still the best thing in this Western. Tom Conti doesn't have the acting chops to keep up with Elliot, and Matt Clark (as lead bad guy Doc Shabitt) may bear some resemblence to Bruce Dern, but he doesn't approach Dern's acting ability. The scenes between Kenny Morrison, as McKaskel's son, and Elliott are almost laughable because the kid's acting is so stilted, especially in the scene in which he defends his father. The rest of the outlaws are cliched to the point of almost being caricatures.

I'm a big fan of Westerns, and I understand the genre and its cliches; I even appreciate them (as I said, I'm a fan). However, I also appreciate a good story and good acting, and this movie is a bit weak on both (with all due respect to Louis L'Amour and especially Sam Elliott).

The bottom line: this is by no means one of the worst Westerns ever filmed, but it's certainly not a first-rate one either. If you're a fan of Westerns, you should see it at least once; otherwise, it's probably one that can be missed. (But if you want to watch Sam Elliott in a much better adaptation of a Louis L'Amour novel, then get the TNT-produced movie "Conagher"; see my review of that movie for more info.).

Movie Review: A favorite cowboy in a disappointing western
Summary: 3 Stars

Sam Elliot is one of my favorite cowboys yet he suffers from a story here that does not fit his usual noble toughman image. He is not the clear heroic character but instead one who seems bent on wife-stealing. His motives for helping the family he finds under siege are clearly self-seeking and only in the end does he give any indication otherwise. If you are a classic L'Amour western fan, this will likely be a disappointment and a confusion to you. It may be more to the "real-life" type but myself, I watch movies to escape real life, not to be reinforced in my cynicism. Still, Mr. Elliot's portrayal of a difficult and disappointing character saves this one from a less than mediocre rating.

Movie Review: "You shoulda made sure, Injun."
Summary: 3 Stars

Boring and very average. I only give this 3 stars for Kate Capshaw's incredible beauty (bow scrape genuflect) and Sam Elliott's facial hair. Not that good when it was first shown, and hasn't gotten any better with age except for the amazing scenery in the multiple national parks in Arizona where this film was shot. Otherwise, this flick and its villains, who are a bunch of sissies, is a total Made for TV snorefest.