Reginald Stoker I am a huge fan of John Wayne and it goes without saying that I view any remake with a jaundiced eye. However, I am a big fan of Lou diamond Phillips and Jeff Bridges and feel both of them can play any Western that the Duke did. The problem with this remake in my opinion is the supporting cast. Phillips took the Quirt Evans role and made it his own and did not try to be a 2009 version of John Wayne. Alas, Deborah Kara Unger was very difficult to watch and totally unbelievable as a Quaker woman that a Bad Man would fall in love with and give up his world for. What happened to her beautiful looks anyway? In this movie she looked like a saloon tramp that has been "Rode Hard and Put Up Wet." Instead of a soft and warm woman that could melt the heart of even the hardest of men. Of all the TV actresses out there this was the best they could do? There was no chemistry even when they tried to force some in the kissing scene and it looked like a brother and sister kissing. Also, the father character wasn't too bad in his role, but the mother was not very good. I liked the Marshall and the Duke's grandson did a pretty good job as Randy, but the saloon girl Maggie left a lot to be desired and looked like she was forcing her lines. Kudos go to Luke Perry as Laredo, but those two sidekicks of his could have been portrayed by wooden statues. I laughed out loud when the Carson character uttered the line "...he had more money than he needed." when Quirt brought him to the Quaker home. Couldn't the writer(s) have come up with a better alternative to the water problem than overcharging for rent of a store? Three stars for Phillip's interpretation and one for Perry with the Duke's nephew and the Marshall character sharing one for their style.

BigJohnPilgrim Whoever decided to remake this movie, should be taken out behind the woodshed. Not for remaking it, but for doing such an awful job. Casting Lou Diamond Phillips as Quirt Evans was the first mistake. He does a good bad guy, but is totally unconvincing as the love interest of a Quaker woman. And Deborah Kara Unger isn't much better as Temperance, she just doesn't come across well as a Quaker woman. There is just no believable spark or magnetism between the two.You simply don't remake a John Wayne classic without putting the right actors in the right places. And in my mind, you just don't remake a John Wayne classic, period. The True Grit remake is an exception, it was well-cast and well done in every aspect. This movie just wasn't convincing. And for a color movie, it has too much of that modern mistake of trying to evoke some Hollywood-imagined atmosphere with toned-down colors. I suppose that is intended to focus us more on the characters, but all it did was focus us on the fact that the casting and acting was bad. I wouldn't recommend this sad excuse for a remake to anyone. And I am unbelievably puzzled by anyone who gives it a good review, I guess it doesn't take much to please people these days.

edwagreen This remake of the John Wayne-Gail Russell original is only partially successful.Rebecca Unger, who portrays Temperance in this film, does just that with her performance. She has tempered it down a lot. You want her to evoke some emotion despite the fact that she portrays a Quaker woman.Lou Diamond Philips has certainly matured and is now older from his days of La Bamba and Stand By Me.The story of a gunfighter who is reformed by a Quaker woman that he meets while recovering from wounds is always interesting but there still needs to be more action here. By the way, how did Temperance really get hurt in the fire? She didn't appear to be shot and was out of the house before she would inhale that much smoke.Kudos to Maggie, the dance hall woman who belts out "You're Not the Man I Used to Know" in a way that the late Peggy Lee would have done.

boblipton This is a remake of the classic 1947 John Wayne western about an injured gunslinger who falls in with good company in the form of some Quakers. Full of comedy and broad performances, the original includes some classic bits and a grand performance by Harry Carey Sr. at the end of his career. The people at Hallmark must have been hesitant to greenlight this production, but they manage to produce a pretty good movie as a result and on its own terms.As with all good remakes, it takes the same material and spins it in a different direction. and the more serious tone of this version does work for the first half, when the contrast between Quirt's life and character is spoken about -- it's handled humorously in the original. Instead, the humor in this version is reserved for the section where Lou Phillips, as Quirt Evans, tries going back to his old life. The attempt to play comedy as Phillips grows more dissatisfied and disgusted with his fellow associates does not, alas, quite work.It does remain a good character study, and among the supporting cast, a special note should be taken of Winston Rekert who plays the Harry Carey role -- a sheriff who had hoped to hang Quirt with a new rope. His is the toughest act to follow, and he manages it very nicely.