The second chapter in the Lonesome Dove saga feels like a lite version of what could be considered a classic miniseries. This entry is long, slow, boring, and poorly acted. To make matters even worse, it’s directed by someone who should’ve known better.
Woodrow F. Call (Karl Urban) and Augustus “Gus” McCrae (Steve Zahn) are Texas Rangers under the command of Captain Inish Scull (Val Kilmer). The Rangers are pursing horse thieving Indian Kicking Wolf (Jonathan Joss) and he eventually steals Scull’s prize horse right from out from under the nose of the Rangers.
Scull and tracker Famous Shoes (David Midthunder) sets off alone to retrieve the beast and Scull is eventually captured by Mexican bandit, and arch-nemesis, Ahumado (Sal Lopez) and held for ransom.
The persistent Inez Scull (Rachel Griffiths), in between riding several Rangers (cough, cough), convinces Governor Pease (James Rebhorn) to pay the ransom of one thousand cattle and send Call and McCrae to collect the bovines. Gus is still courting Clara (Linda Cardinelli) but eventually she’ll marry another because of the interfering Inez.
Call ends up getting Maggie (Elizabeth Banks) pregnant but his fear of commitment leads to their relationship disintegrating as well. Meanwhile, Chief Buffalo Hump (Wes Studi) is stirring up the Comanche’s to attack.
I suppose in novel form these events fit together better, but this miniseries seems so far below the original that it’s a wasted effort. Karl Urban and Steve Zahn are just doing their Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall impressions and it makes you long to re-watch the original instead of wasting time with this one.
The acting is all around poor and it’s just strange to see some of the characters portrayed here. It feels like Lonesome Dove, Junior.
Val Kilmer and Rachel Griffiths are so far over the top as the two feuding Sculls that they feel like a cartoon more than anything. Not to mention that Kilmer bears a striking resemblance to Mark Twain (especially in the final act that takes place after the Civil War) and tends to strut about like Teddy Roosevelt.
This may go down in the pantheon of Lonesome Dove milking as the poorest entry yet. Well, they’ve milked that original classic quite a bit.
However, the original holds up and these sequels don’t, but some of them rise above this failed effort. It’s too long and seems to go on forever (to this reviewer who watched the whole thing it certainly did) and you wonder if director Simon Wincher, who directed the original, had a bit of a fluke that the first turned out so well.
The dentistry of the old west has been given a bum rap too since all of the characters, from the richest to the poorest, have such shiny, straight, bleached teeth. You know if must be true if it’s in a movie… sigh.
Comanche Moon is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include the 7 minute “Behind the scenes of Comanche Moon,” the 5 minute “Riding into the Sunset” about the cowboy and riding training, and the 5 minute “Comanche Heritage” about the Comanche’s in the old west.
Comanche Moon is pretty sad when compared to the original and the cartoonish appearance of the characters doesn’t help. The production values of the show seem to fall well below the detail given to the original and the results are substandard.
Comanche Moon 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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