Plot: During the CW, Confederate soldiers hijack a Gold shipment guarded by John Wayne. After the war, Wayne hooks up with Rivero and begins a search for the traitor who made the robbery possible.
Pros: Wayne, great Scenery, Elam.
Cons: Supporting cast, Lame script, unoriginal story.
Widely acknowledged to be the second copy of Rio Bravo, Rio Lobo was a real disappointment. There are a few good scenes of course, and Wayne is still the Duke - but this movie dragged and dragged and seemed much longer than 114 minutes. Hawks' two prior Wayne Westerns, "Rio Bravo" and "El Dorado" were also rambling, discursive movies with rather thin plots. But both were enjoyable due to better writing, a more dynamic Wayne, and - above all - better supporting casts.
Rio Lobo has one of the worst supporting casts I've ever seen. Jose Who? Jennifer what? Chris Mitchum? The women are pretty but can't act, while the male supporting actors and villains - except for Elam -are simply forgettable. It was a little unfair to expect tired, old John Wayne to carry the whole movie. Further, the action scenes were rather mediocre and the gun shots-wounds look cheesy. In the 60s Western films started showing bloody wounds to be more 'realistic' but 40 years later they just look like ketchup stains.
Summary: Nice looking girls and scenery - otherwise a complete bore **
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.