Maverick (1994)

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1. 

   Siskoid

   When the con is on, I like Maverick, but there's so much to make me cringe in Richard Donner's adaptation of the old television show (and I don't just mean the cognitive dissonance associated with Jodie Foster fawning over Mel Gibson). Now, I do love the IDEA of Maverick, a western anti-hero who never shoots to kill and gets into (and out of) crazy amounts of trouble. Mel Gibson isn't as actually charming as the movie wants us to believe however, or perhaps he can't help but seem more of a lunatic than the original model on account of James Garner being RIGHT THERE for us to compare. But then, a lot of the comedy bits are extended to the point of annoyance - the incessant bargaining for % points, the bit with the Natives, and that ending that makes me feel like I'm being dragged behind a lame horse - as well as cameos that call attention to themselves and produce different reactions, not all of them good. Margot Kidder? Sure, ok, that's cute. Dan Hedaya? Completely wasted (cutting room floor casualty?). Danny Glover? A Lethal Weapon joke that took me right out of the movie, and I couldn't trust it again. It's not that I don't have a sense of humor, and I did appreciate the general sense of fun, but maybe Maverick was trying too hard, and like all those "extended cut" comedies that indulgently restore every bit of improv, it's limp where it should be sharp. 2 years 8 months ago

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