tigerized
Where to begin... I was hoping that the thoroughly enjoyable Chris Hemsworth would deliver a performance somewhere near his Thor persona, but that was not to be. Neither did Bruce Dern, Kris Kristoferson, Trace Adkins, or anyone else live up to previous acting efforts. I really blame the director and cinematographer, for delivering a completely mundane, slow motion, unimaginative waste of everyone's time. The camera angles were mostly locked down, the acting unnatural, the script tiresome, the editing trite, and I completely missed whether or not there was an accompanying music score. I gave up on this train wreck after watching the first two thirds, as the dishwasher needed unloading.
zwalker2009
Take a shot every time you hear the line "I'll put a bullet in ya," or, "You sonuva bitch."Cliche lines and choppy writing leave a disjointed story that provides little entertainment. I found myself actually laughing out loud at several points throughout the film. I am literally in awe of how bad this movie was. Writers seem to be pulling lines out of some sort of machine that spits out western tag lines and hoping that delivery from someone like Kristofferson will help. Poor sound effects and a score that came off of iTunes does nothing to help this already subpar film. Nothing, absolutely nothing was done well. Two stars because you made me laugh.
Wuchak
RELEASED IN 2017 and directed by Timothy Woodward Jr., "Hickok" stars Luke Hemsworth as the titular lawman and gunslinger, nicknamed Wild Bill, who is commissioned as Marshal to tame the wildest cow-town in the Old West, Abilene, Kansas. Kris Kristofferson plays the noble mayor and Bruce Dern the town doctor while Trace Adkins is on hand as the nefarious mogul of the town. Cameron Richardson plays the woman they vie for whereas Kaiwi Lyman appears as Hickok's gunfighter rival. Except for the opening sequences, this is a town-bound Western similar in theme to those Wyatt Earp Westerns where Earp has to clean up a town (Dodge City, Tombstone, whatever). Since practically the entire story takes place in town it's irrelevant that California substitutes for Kansas. It's great to see old Western stars Kristofferson and Dern in fairly significant peripheral roles. Luke is stalwart as the protagonist and the movie really drives home the bold resolve it would take to tame a wild cow-town. Meanwhile the hulking Adkins is formidable as the heavy. While this is a relatively low-budget adult Western (with a little bit of cussing, nudity, covert sex) and there are obvious mistakes here and there (e.g. the kid's bandage appearing on the wrong leg), not to mention the cast probably learned their lines the night before, as well as the predictableness concerning Mattie's kid, the script and main cast keep things compelling. There are several highlights and a few spectacular shots, like the train bridge in the opening act and, later, the moonlit sky. In short, the movie's entertaining for a low budget Western that doesn't overstay its welcome. Western fans who don't demand Grade A quality should eat this up. Keep in mind that not every Western can have the mega-funds of blockbusters like "Dances With Wolves" and "Unforgiven." Just don't look to "Hickok" for accurate history. Nevertheless, I'd watch "Hickok" over the comparatively dull "Wild Bill" (1995) any day. THE FILM RUNS 1 hour 28 minutes and was shot in Agoura (Paramount Ranch) & Santa Clarita, California. WRITER: Michael Lanahan. GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)
generationofswine
I'm sorry, the movie has talent behind it. It also has talent familiar with westerns.But the direction stinks and the entire film in hampered by poor production values.It looks not unlike a movie of the week, if the movie of the week had half the budget of a single episode of a reality TV show.Here and there you can spot a clever lighting trick, something that adds a little bit of beauty, a little bit of photographic excellence. But those moments are few and far between, and even then you can tell that they were giving all they could with next to nothing.The sets just looked cheap, especially if you're watching it on a TV with any real resolution.Even the blood looked cheap and fake.The best thing this movie could have done was work in the shadows, make it dingy and dark in an effort to hide how cheap it all is.instead, it went for decent lighting, and unfortunately, that didn't hide as much as it should have.
AD
