davemellor I was watching this on the Freeview 'movies-for-men' channel (I'm retired - what else can I say) in the UK. I thought - wow, you can see the wrinkles in the false forehead attached to the wig the lead actress is wearing! So I thought - oh, this must be a pastiche.BUT NO - this is a modern (2009 not 1979 or 1969 or 1909!) film. This is for real.Well 'Gee Mister Dylan, Dillon - Marshall Dillon' said Chester. 'I n'er wood a guest'.Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

Wizard-8 I love the movies Terence Hill put out in the '70s and '80s, and I was curious to see an example of what Hill has been putting out in the present day, which explains why I rented "Doc West". Sadly, I didn't think too much of this effort. Hill still has his piercing blue eyes, but now in his senior citizen years, he looks extremely worn out and tired in this movie. The movie's sense of humor also seems worn out and tired, with the attempted humor not even generating a mild chuckle. In fact, much of the movie is (oddly) played pretty straight. I will admit that for a made-for-TV (Italian TV) movie, the production values are fairly good, from the western sets to the New Mexico countryside. But good production values can only carry a movie so far, and this movie ends up being a big disappointment.

zna-3 As an adult movie, this rates perhaps a 1 or a 2. The best parts about it are the full frontal shots of Terrence Hill's face, showing his steely blue eyes. But as a kid's television show, it rates about a 5 or 6, so I averaged it into a 3.Simply put, it's equivalent to any Roy Rodgers episode you watched back in the day, but without Gabby Hayes. It has nothing of the panache evidenced by Hill in his spaghetti westerns, no cleverness of plot, no realism of any sort, and nothing innovative. It's more or less of a generic western with mediocre acting and less than mediocre dialog. Your 8 year old will probably like it, and there is nothing objectionable in it to prevent him or her from watching it: quite bloodless, nothing nuanced or obscure, no sexual innuendo. The violence consists of a snake being shot in the tail, a villain being shot in the hand and a kid wounded in the shoulder(who of course recovers completely). It all ends well, just like a Roy Rodgers show.

actionfilm-2 This review is based on the U.S. DVD release of Doc West, which was originally a 2 episode program for television somewhere outside the U.S. (Italy I presume, though the film is made in English). The DVD running time is shorter than the time listed for the TV miniseries, and judging be the continuity it's safe to say it's the first episode rather than a re-editing of both episodes into a single film (as sometime happens). As such the first episode does work well as a stand alone film.The plot of Doc West is simplicity itself, stranger rides into town and becomes involved in the affairs of it's populace. As this has been done at least one or two times before, it always comes down to the handling of the material that makes or breaks such films. Fortunately star and director Terence Hill does a admirable job with the formula and proves himself a capable director. Anyone expecting the gritty feel of The Wild Bunch or nihilistic tone of Deadwood will be severely disappointed. Rather Doc West is a throwback to the clean cut family oriented westerns of old. Characters perhaps lack great depth but remain interesting, the outdoor scenery is captured well, the cast is good, and the script is nicely written. Paul Sorvino in a nice change of pace from his usual mafia roles, stars as the town's amiable sheriff.This film marks the long awaited return of Terence Hill (real name Mario Girotti) to the western genre. In the early seventies, Hill starred in the Italian western action comedies "My name Is Trinity" and it's sequel "Trinity Is Still My Name" (both films far superior to Blazing Saddles, Support Your Local Sheriff, or anything similar imho). Legendary director Sergio Leone was fond of the Trinity character and decided to use him in a film, albeit in a somewhat more serious manner. As a result Leone cast Hill in the film "My Name Is Nobody". These early films were dubbed in English, though the voice work for Hill's characters is surprisingly similar to his own real voice (which has only a bit of an accent). Hill's last western film was "Troublemakers" (a.k.a. The Fight Before Christmas) with Trinity co-star Bud Spencer. Today the actor has aged quite well and looks in fine physical shape, evidenced by his ability to wear his wardrobe from "My Name Is Nobody" for this latest film. Doc West is perhaps a more mature version of the whimsical Trinity character. This film is not the best western of the last 10 years, but it is certainly entertaining and Terence Hill's long overdue return to the western is warmly welcome. Hopefully the second episode of Doc West will be released on domestic DVD soon and it won't be too long before Hill dons the iconic cowboy duster once again.