Rating: Summary: TOMBSTONE, VAL KILMER, TOMBSTONE... Review: This is a decent movie, but because it follows the same plot and story of "Tombstone" and "Tombstone" is a thousand times better, there is no reason to bother to watch "Wyatt Earp". Dennis Quaid is LAUGHABLE as Doc Holliday, and he fails to convince. In "Tombstone" Val Kilmer displays his incredible emotional range and his part allows him to be serious and hilarious at different times. Kilmer actually smoked several packs of cigarettes a day to give himself a raspy voice and a sickly appearance. The chemistry between Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer is what elevates "Tombstone" far above ordinary action films. In "Wyatt Earp" there is little chemistry between Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid. The characters are wooden and underdeveloped. The filmmakers of "Tombstone" took real risks to make the true story exciting and profound, while "Wyatt Earp" spends too much time developing its story, so that by the end it has lost its impact. "Tombstone" is great because it is not afraid to alter history to fit the legend, but "Wyatt Earp" is bad because it is too realistic, and realism is not what film is about, if it was then noone would watch. If you have an imagination and enjoy complex characters watch "Tombstone", if you are a historian and like to wear tight clothing and study encyclopedias watch "Wyatt Earp".
Rating: Summary: Wyatt Earp Review: I and my family really enjoyed the movie.
Rating: Summary: Ambitious and underrated! Review: "Silverado" is one of the best westerns ever made, and "Wyatt Earp" is another worthy western by Lawrence Kasdan. The film is a big sprawling attempt to capture the whole of the iconic lawman's life, from his boyhood just after the Civil war through the Tombstone years, and onward toward the Alaska gold-fields. "Wyatt Earp" is unusually ambitious in this regard for a Hollywood film, and attention to historical detail was wonderful. I loved Costner as Wyatt Earp: as an actor he is very much in the Gary Cooper mold; not overly expressive, and this is just the right note for a legendary lawman, & steely gunslinger. Dennis Quaid is a phenomenon as Doc Holiday: skinny and haggard, he looks tubercular (unlike the well fed Val Kilmer in the laughable "Tombstone.") The photography is sumptuous, & the film score dramatic and memorable. I can even laud the make-up artists who made the 40 something Costner look believably youthful for his scenes as Wyatt Earp in his 20's. Yes the movie is long, and a tighter hand could have prevailed during editing, but compared to the typical Hollywood schlock one sees, "Wyatt Earp" is well worth the hours you invest in viewing it. One of my favorite films of the last ten years. A great film in the western genre!
Rating: Summary: A film that doesn't glorify the good nor deamonize the bad Review: I love movies that aren't necessarily trying to make a statement about what is right and what is wrong. This is one of those films. In the beginning we say a young Wyatt Earp as a farmer and husband who is left as a young widower. From there he begins to wallow in self pity, alchohol and mayhem. He then heads for the new west where he begins to find himself and build his crew. Along the way he meets his calling as a lawman. But irrespective of the legend we are introduced to a man with many of the same shortcomings as us all in addition to his many virtues. I have been drawn to this film again and again although it is at times slow moving and at others seemingly pointless. Of particular interest to me are the scenes after he becomes a deputy until we see him as a retiree. In those we see a man of many different motivations and loyalties. Perhaps what I found most appealing is the fact that this collection of 'pretty boys' were able to bring to life some very hard nosed realities and grim circumstances. Fabulously directed and of particular note is the performance of Dennis Quaid as Doc Holliday. He really stills the movie with his southern drawl, quick wit and portrayed sickness. Highly recommended.
Rating: Summary: Who cares? Review: So what if this wasn't "Tombstone", or your average hero film. Do you read a (auto)biography for an action scene? That's exactly what "Wyatt Earp" tries to be, true to most of the facts, but a little biased, a biography.
Rating: Summary: GONE BERSERK ... Review: After winning a lot of Oscars for the great "DANCE WITH WOLVES", Costner apparently wente berserk, and started to think he's the greatest actor of all mankind! One of the movies that shows this new phase is this one. The general idea is good, tryin to make a "real" portrait of Wearp, not a action-filled package as "TOMBSTONE". But Costner's acting is arrogant, boring, in a way that eclypses all the merits of the movie (mainly, Dennis Quaid as Doc Holliday)
Rating: Summary: the dark side of wyatt earp Review: Costner is the first actor to show Wyatt Earp as a man with a complex personality. The nature of the film medium precludes a precisely accurate representation of history. However, this one actually shows character development from a young man seeking adventure to an embittered and cold blooded killer. This is certainly a more realistic portrayal of Earp than one finds in "Tombstone". Dennis Quaid is also outstanding as Doc Holiday. The film is a little long at times, but is a fine effort and deserves the respect of western history buffs.
Rating: Summary: One of the best movies in my collection. Review: This is one of the best movies that I have in my entire video collection. The way the Costner (Wyatt Earp) and Quaid (Doc Holiday) portray these fabled men are truly amazing. It kept me on the edge of my seat from the minute it started until the credits began rolling. Very few movies tend to keep my attention the way that this one did, because let me tell ya, you will surely be hitting the pause button when you go for that bathroom break (and you will, this is one darn long movie!) in the middle of it.
Rating: Summary: Wyatt Earp was a Man Review: A lot of people forget that Wyatt Earp was a real man who had more courage and integrity then most people you will ever know. This movie is a pretty accurate portrayl of that man. Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid (Doc Holliday) do a superb job, although the supporting cast has a lot to be desired. This movie differs from the movie "Tombstone", in that it portrays a lot of Wyatt's life from being a teenager during the Civil War to his and Josie's adventure to the Alaskan gold fields near the turn of the century. "Tombstone" deals primarily with the happenings in Wyatt's life in that one town, which ironically dealt with less than 2 years of his long adventurous life. I liked this film because it dealt with an approximate 35 year time span of Wyatt's life, and the movie is long enough to dipict this. There are a lot of historical accuracies in the movie which include proper representations of places and dialogue such as what is said on the way to and during the gunfight. The inaccuracies are easily overlooked such as Virgil being shot in the wrong arm and the reference to "Johnny behind the duece" as "Tommy." All in all though, a good film about the life of a great man, Wyatt Earp.
Rating: Summary: Are you people insane! Review: This has to be the worst, most boring peice of garbage western I've ever seen. How can one call this a good biography. All this movie did was try to tear jerk you every second. Kasdan thinks he has a gift for tear jerking. I watch westerns because they are real, and violent with straightforward stories and gritty characters. This film lacks in everything that characterizes a western. The people who liked this must have just got done watching, "The Big Chill". A real western is the Outlaw Josey Wales, or The Sacketts. And Tombstone, even though overblown at times, blew this bomb out of the water. When they get to the gunfight at the OK Corrall, notice how you don't even know who the heck the bad guys are. Kasdan has to remember that the heavy in a movie is just as important as his hero, especially a western. But if he did that it wouldn't be his brand of yuppie western. Kasdan watched too many episodes of Little House on the Prairie and thought they were westerns. He should watch some more Peckinpah films and grow a pair. Kevin Costner should do the same.
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