Rent Wyatt Earp (1994)

Western - Worth A Revisit - Wyatt Earp review by GI

Epic, sprawling western biopic that was a critical and commercial flop and was unfairly compared with Tombstone (1993) although they are two stylistically different films. Viewed today this film is entertaining, filmed and structured in a very Hollywood standard story telling way and to be honest all the better for it. It does slip in some homages which western fans will spot and attempts to play a part in John Ford's 'print the legend' maxim although a bit too casually to give the film any real gravitas. This is a film to sit back and just enjoy for it's cinematic grandeur and surface history. It is when boiled down a good ol' action western that has a good story, plenty of great action scenes and some stock western characters. Kevin Costner plays Earp as a very serious, emotionally damaged avenger with a story that begins with in his teens (with Ian Bohen in the first scenes as a young Earp), it then tells the story of his life from naïve drover to grieving alcoholic to lawman and killer. There's a good support cast including Gene Hackman as his father, Michael Madsen as his older brother Virgil and a slimmed down Dennis Quaid as Doc Holliday. A film well worth a revisit and re-evaluation because there is much to admire here, not least the sheer scale of the story and for it's attempt at a romanticised and retro style of western.

Terrible - Wyatt Earp review by Jez Thorpe

Big name like Kevin and you would of thought the movie matched.

How wrong, gave it 30 mins, thinking it was a joke starting and the real film would start, but .........

I wonder if Mr C. Looks back and ponders why he was in such an C rated movies, with terrible script and child like scenes.

If your 10 year old child produced this at school , you’d wonder what the teacher was drinking or smoking..

Avoid.