DVD Review: Avenging Angel

DVD Reviews

By Jeff Swindoll Dec 6, 2007, 17:39 GMT

Kevin Sorbo goes from mythical hero and starship captain back to the old west. He plays a “man with no name” who was a man of god but when his family is slain takes up the guns and puts down the good book.

A Preacher (Kevin Sorbo) has moved to a new church on the prairie. Outside of town, a group of squatters is on some land that Colonel Cusak (Wings Hauser, Gary Busey must have been unavailable) owns. He tells his thug Quinn (Nick Chinlund) to ride into the valley and kill the settlers since they won’t vacate the land. A few of the settlers escape the rampage and ride to the church. The preacher tells the thugs that the settlers have been granted sanctuary and that they should ride on. The thugs see it differently and knock out the preacher and dynamite the church. In the raid, the preacher’s wife and young daughter are killed. The preacher had put down his gun after the civil war, but with the loss of his wife and child he decides to take a darker path and become a bounty hunter. One year later, the preacher finds himself in the same area and now Quinn is the sheriff and the Colonel is up to his old ways as another group of squatters is on the outskirts of town. The preacher decides to stay in town and rents a room from Maggie (Cynthia Watros), an ex-working girl with a young daughter. Before you can say western cliché, the preacher with no name decides to take up the cause of the god-fearing settlers and the ex-hooker (with a heart of gold no doubt). It’s not hard to see that this film was made for television since there are still several “fades” that signal the coming commercial. The plotline is pure western cliché and if you’re going to homage (that’s Hollywood for stealing) then make sure you homage the best. To that degree, the plot is a television version of Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider as well as the “man with no name” character. That being said I guess that undiscerning western fans that didn’t catch it when it showed up on the tube will find this an acceptable entertainment. The production values are a bit low but Sorbo does what he can with the role. It really requires him to put on his best Eastwood and his fans will no doubt enjoy it. However, it’s pretty old hat as far as westerns go. I was sort’ve snarky to Hauser earlier, but he does a decent job with the villain’s role. It is nice to recognize television vets Whitey Hughes (one of Robert Conrad’s cadre of stuntmen on the Wild Wild West) and Jack Riley (of the Bob Newhart Show) in minor roles. Avenging Angel is presented in fullscreen as it was shown on television. Special features include a 21 minute interview with Kevin Sorbo and the 4 minute “Shopping for Answers” which shows the behind the scenes rehearsal footage of a scene in the general store. If you must have a western fix, this could possibly satisfy those hunger pangs but don’t expect to see anything new. Kevin Sorbo fans may enjoy the Eastwood, but it might’ve been best to catch this one on the tube. Avenging Angel is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.

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DVD Review: Avenging Angel

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