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.  

Cheesy and historically inaccurate. - Wyatt Earp review by CP Customer

I rented this on the back of Kevin Costner's excellent 'Open Range’, but this is really an inferior film. The acting is cheesy, the story historically inaccurate and at three hours long it's a struggle to get through. If you've not seen the superb 'Open Range' or 'Broken Trail' then rent them and give this a miss.