Reginald Stoker
I am a huge fan of John Wayne and it goes without saying that I view any remake with a jaundiced eye. However, I am a big fan of Lou diamond Phillips and Jeff Bridges and feel both of them can play any Western that the Duke did. The problem with this remake in my opinion is the supporting cast. Phillips took the Quirt Evans role and made it his own and did not try to be a 2009 version of John Wayne. Alas, Deborah Kara Unger was very difficult to watch and totally unbelievable as a Quaker woman that a Bad Man would fall in love with and give up his world for. What happened to her beautiful looks anyway? In this movie she looked like a saloon tramp that has been "Rode Hard and Put Up Wet." Instead of a soft and warm woman that could melt the heart of even the hardest of men. Of all the TV actresses out there this was the best they could do? There was no chemistry even when they tried to force some in the kissing scene and it looked like a brother and sister kissing. Also, the father character wasn't too bad in his role, but the mother was not very good. I liked the Marshall and the Duke's grandson did a pretty good job as Randy, but the saloon girl Maggie left a lot to be desired and looked like she was forcing her lines. Kudos go to Luke Perry as Laredo, but those two sidekicks of his could have been portrayed by wooden statues. I laughed out loud when the Carson character uttered the line "...he had more money than he needed." when Quirt brought him to the Quaker home. Couldn't the writer(s) have come up with a better alternative to the water problem than overcharging for rent of a store? Three stars for Phillip's interpretation and one for Perry with the Duke's nephew and the Marshall character sharing one for their style.
kayel_justice
I am giving this a 10 because the voting score is unfairly low. Just to sum up I like movies such as Se7en, Old Boy, Fight Club, and Gypy 83. And this is a good movie.Right away I was sucked into the atmosphere and cared about Diamond Phillips (Quirt). His acting in this movie is really good. Seriously underrated. Also the supporting actors are very good. The sheriff really sticks out in my mind when I say this. I'm am not writing about the story, you can read the description of the movie for that, but rather I decided to write about the feeling this movie gives people when they watch it. This is a hallmark film, something I am NOT used to watching, however I woke up one Saturday morn' and this was on. I saw Lou's and Luke Perry's name, and thought, "hmmm, if I don't like it in 5min I will watch ninja warrior or something", however I did not change the channel. this movie is not a sex driven, swear wording, extremely vulgar piece, but it reminds you of how a movie can be powerful and fun to watch with a little effort in iteration and translation. It is Enjoyable. I have read from others that Lou did a good job in redoing the classic in his own style, I have to say, though I did not see the original, I do not doubt that this may be better.
zardoz-13
The people who produced the made-for-television remake of the 1947 John Wayne classic "Angel and the Badman" should have heeded Michael Caine's sage advice. According to Caine, never remake a classic. No matter how good your movie is, it will never top a classic. Instead, the noted British thespian insists producers remake second-rate films. A greater possibility exists for the remake to surpass the flawed original. "Max Havoc: Ring of Fire" director Terry Ingram's "Angel and the Badman" remake isn't half as good as the original. Anybody who has not seen writer & director James Edward Grant's 1947 version of "Angel and the Badman" might actually enjoy this modest but politically-correct, romantic oater. Otherwise, carved-in-the-leather John Wayne fans might reserve it one derisive snort. This simple but powerful drama concerns the conversion of a hardened gunslinger by a peaceful Quaker woman.Two significant changes include the visual differences and the changes in character. Whereas the 1947 version was in lensed in glorious black & white, the Hallmark Channel Original remake exploits the advantage of color. Sadly, the photography and the sets look at best budgetary. Furthermore, whereas the heroine in the original was a virgin, the remake heroine is a single-parent mom with a son who father died. Admittedly, Lou Diamond Phillips cannot rival John Wayne, but Deborah Kara Unger gives Gail Russell a run for her money. The Bradley - Town Telegrapher (Olin Howard) constituted a major source of comic relief in the original, but actor Michael Teigen generates none of Howard's hilarity. Carson in the original is a rancher who has set off the Quaker's water supply to their farm, while in the remake he is the town mayor who reduces their rent. Setting wise, the original took place in the Southwest whereas Ingram's remake occurs in snow swept Oregon. They appeared to have shot entire sequences in freezing weather because you can see their oxygen crystallize as they utter lines of dialogue. Other than its color photography, Ingram and freshman scribes Thomas Makowski and Jack Nasser have eliminated the atheist and whittled away at the Quaker. Nevertheless, they retain most of the original dialogue. Indeed, sometimes it seems almost word-for-word. Unfortunately, the same is not true for the actual events. Budgetary constraints compelled Ingram and company to rewrite the action. For example, rather than a runaway wagon chase that ends with our hero and heroine taking a plunge into a river, the remake substitutes a fire that nearly kills the heroine.Each film opens with Quirt Evans killing three men, catching a slug in the chest, and then riding off to wind up in the dust in front of a Quaker homestead. The congenial Quakers attempt to help him, but Evans refuses to accommodate them. He insists that they take him to the nearest telegraph office. Initially, the telegrapher refuses to send a telegram because he has just shut down the office. When he discovers that the wounded man is Quirt Evans, he taps off the message, something about a mining claim. The Quakers take him back to their home and put him to bed. Later, the town physician arrives and fills him up of laudanum, but he watches helpless as Evans thrashes around in deliriously in the bed. The doctor complains that he cannot operate on Evans and remove the bullet unless the patient calms down. Intuitively, the Quaker patriarch fetches Evans' revolver after he has removed the cartridges. In the original, the Quaker wife is instructed to put the shells back in Evans' gun belt, while in the remake she is ordered to throw them away. Not even a mediocre made-for-television remake can mar this memorable scene. The physician operates and Evans recovers. John Wayne looks a sight funnier walking around with a blanket wrapped around his hips than Lou Diamond Phillips. Of course, Temperance (Deborah Kara Unger of "The Game") is an older woman who has been married, given birth to a son, and lives with her parents after he husband died. In the original, the Gail Russell character has not been married.Mind you, the "Angel and the Badman" remake is tolerable, especially if you haven't seen the original. Although Lou Diamond Phillips is a talented actor, he is sorely miscast. Worse, John Wayne casts a long shadow. The singular advantage that Phillips brings to the role is that he looks like villain, where Wayne was always heroic. It doesn't help matters that Phillips is forced to wear a truly hideous looking hat. Phillips has appeared in several westerns, and his "Young Guns" movies were minor classics, but "Angel and the Badman" lacks the spirit or the ferocity of them. Moreover, Luke Perry as outlaw Laredo Stevens is no match for perennial villain Bruce Cabot. Harry Carey virtually stole the original as the wholesome, home-spun exemplar of justice, Territorial Marshal Wistful McClintock. Suffice to say, you need to watch the original "Angel and the Badman" if you enjoy the remake.
bob1701a
Nobody does it better. I repeat, NOBODY, does it better than The Duke. Don't bother watching this until you can see it for free. John Wayne is The Ultimate Cowboy! Nobody does it better! Nobody ever did it better! Nobody ever will do it better! To try and copy him is a fools errand.If you wanna watch LaBamba, Lou Diamond Phillips is the perfect choice. If you wanna see teenage cowpunks go bad and shoot up town after town, he can get the job done. If you wanna see teenage punks screw up in high school and make the teacher look like an idiot, he's pretty good at that, too.Remake a John Wayne film?!?!? NO WAY!