Audience Member
Romantic and action packed, but a bit unrealistic. I just can't see a sweet, sheltered Quaker woman hooking up with an outlaw.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/14/23
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Audience Member
Not a bad attempt at the classic John Wayne film. But Lou Diamond Phillips is no John Wayne.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The original movie with John Wayne is one of my favorite movies of his, so I was a little aprehensive about the remake. It surprised me that it wasn't half bad. I think everyone did a pretty good job of updating it, but I still like the original better.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The people who produced the made-for-television remake of the 1947 John Wayne classic "Angel and the Badman" should have heeded Michael Caine's sage advice. According to Caine, never remake a classic. No matter how good your movie is, it will never top a classic. Instead, the noted British thespian insists producers should remake second-rate films. A greater possibility exists that the remake will surpass the flawed original. The "Angel and the Badman" remake isn't half as good as the original. Anybody who has not seen writer & director James Edward Grant's 1947 version of "Angel and the Badman" might actually enjoy this modest but politically-correct, romantic oater. Otherwise, carved-in-the-leather John Wayne fans might reserve it one derisive snort. This simple but powerful drama concerns the conversion of a hardened gunslinger by a peaceful Quaker woman.Two significant changes include the visual differences and the changes in character. Whereas the 1947 version was in lensed in glorious black & white, the Hallmark Channel Original remake exploits the advantage of color. Sadly, the photography and the sets look at best budgetary. Furthermore, whereas the heroine in the original was a virgin, the remake heroine is a single-parent mom with a son who father died. Admittedly, Lou Diamond Phillips cannot rival John Wayne, but Deborah Kara Unger gives Gail Russell a run for her money. The Bradley - Town Telegrapher (Olin Howard) constituted a major source of comic relief in the original, but actor Michael Teigen generates none of Howard's hilarity. Carson in the original is a rancher who has shut off the Quakerâs water supply to their farm, while in the remake he is the well-dressed town mayor who reduces their rent. Setting wise, the original took place in the Southwest whereas director Terry Ingram's remake occurs in snow swept Oregon. They appeared to have shot entire sequences in freezing weather because you can see their oxygen crystallize as they utter lines of dialogue. Other than its color photography, Ingram and freshman scribes Thomas Makowski and Jack Nasser have eliminated the atheist and whittled away at the Quaker religion. Nevertheless, they retain most of the original dialogue. Indeed, sometimes it seems almost a word-for-word rehash. Each film opens with Quirt Evans killing three men, catching a slug in the chest, and then riding off to wind up in the dust in front of a Quaker homestead. The congenial Quakers attempt to help him, but Evans refuses to accommodate them. He insists that they take him to the nearest telegraph office. Initially, the telegrapher refuses to send a telegram because he has just closed the office. When he discovers the wounded man is none other than Quirt Evans, he taps off the message, something about a mining claim. The Quakers take him back to their home and put him to bed. Later, the town physician arrives and fills him up of laudanum, but he watches helpless as Evans thrashes around in deliriously in the bed. The doctor complains that he cannot operate on Evans and remove the bullet unless the patient calms down. Intuitively, the Quaker patriarch fetches Evans' revolver after he has extracted the cartridges. In the original, the Quaker wife is instructed to put the shells back in Evans' gun belt, while in the remake she is ordered to throw them away. Not even a mediocre made-for-television remake can mar this memorable scene. The physician operates and Evans recovers. John Wayne looks a sight funnier walking around with a blanket wrapped around his hips than Lou Diamond Phillips. Of course, Temperance (Deborah Kara Unger of âThe Gameâ) is an older woman who has been married, given birth to a son, and lives with her parents after he husband died. In the original, the Gail Russell character has not been married. Mind you, the "Angel and the Badman" remake is tolerable, especially if you haven't seen the original. Although Lou "Diamond" Phillips is a talented actor, he is sorely miscast. Worse, John Wayne casts a long shadow. The singular advantage that Phillips brings to the role is that he looks like villain, where Wayne was always heroic. It doesn't help matters that Phillips is forced to wear a truly hideous looking hat. Phillips have appeared in several westerns, and his "Young Guns" movies were minor classics, but "Angel and the Badman" lacks the spirit or the ferocity of them. Moreover, Luke Perry as outlaw Laredo Stevens is no match for perennial villain Bruce Cabot.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This remake is not as good as the original, but then no-one can easily and adequately fill John Wayne's shoes. Having said this, Lou Diamond Phillips carries the lead role with a quiet, understated gravitas and his co-star, Deborah Kara Unger, is equally compelling. The story is believable and interesting and it unfolds gently and without any jarring gaps or jumps. When Unger touches Phillips on the cheek and says "I love thee," director Terry Ingram keeps the scene schmaltz-free and warm. I enjoyed this movie very much.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Not to shabby for a video western. Didn't feel I had wasted my time but unlikely to go back to it.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
Full Review
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