FightingWesterner Lou Diamond Phillips returns from the Civil War to find his childhood friend Vincent Spano cheating homesteaders of their money, property, and sometimes their lives as well. Things heat up when Phillips helps his father Stacy Keach out of Spano's crooked scheme, a scheme that demands Keach's homestead.Lone Rider is fairly derivative, though well produced, with good photography and direction. I can't help but like it, though I wish the straight-forward script were both more complex and lively.As far as the players go, Phillips and Keach are always entertaining, whatever they're in, while Spano makes a good villain, even though we never find out exactly what makes his character tick.Tom Schanley, who plays Phillips' Army buddy, stands out among the supporting players. Although I don't know him as an actor, he's pretty good.The title of Lone Rider is a misnomer, as Phillips doesn't do much riding and has plenty of help throughout the movie.

ctomvelu-1 In LONE RIDER, I was hoping for another A GUNFIGHTER'S PLEDGE. That is to say, a made-for-TV yarn with a name actor in the lead and all the trappings of a good old-fashioned, gunslinging tale of the Old West. What I got here was utter boredom, including the big shootout near the end. Lou D. Phillips returns from the war to the family homestead, only to discover an old friend (Vincent Spano) is buying up everybody's property and running them off. The plot as such is the same as A GUNFIGHTER'S PLEDGE, which saw Luke Perry as a former sheriff defending a widow's ranch against a land-grabbing evildoer (played by a black-clad, mustache-twirling C. Thomas Howell). We run into immediate problems in LONE RIDER: as much as I like Phillips, he doesn't ring true as a soldier-turned-civilian in the Old West. He's too clean-shaven and nicely groomed. Also, Spano acts like he's reading his script for the first time, and is unconvincing as an old friend-turned-enemy. Likewise, Stacy Keach playing Phillips' dad reads his lines (trite as they may be) so flatly, you have to believe he knew what a turkey he got himself into here. The two females leads are generic and forgettable. Also, no matter what Spano does, including beating up Phillips' cousin and later killing his dad, Phillips just sort of sits around, doing nothing -- until the very end, at least, when there is a badly staged and photographed gunfight. Luke Perry, who did feel like a real cowboy in his TV movie, would have made the bad guys pay dearly a lot sooner and a lot swifter. I have a feeling this may have been shot in Canada, which is always a mistake. Everything seems to be moving under water, which is typical of Canadian-lensed TV movies.

rstone-27 Normally I'm not one to watch a lot of Lou Diamond Philip movies due to the fact that I'm just not one of his fans and really do NOT particularly like the way he acts. To give credit where credit is due, I will say that this is a good western for modern times. I've watched such bad westerns that were put out with glowing reviews and was just stunned to see the trash thats out there. Here is just one example:6 Reasons Why -- the worst of the worst --Don't waste your time on that one, there are others - This however, is one that was not a waste of time for a western.I gave it a 5 because I did enjoy watching a new western. Its nothing new, no new story line, a Hero, Villains, and a couple of women to make it interesting.

bkoganbing In Lone Rider Lou Diamond Phillips returns to his small Texas town after war service and looks to settle down with his family. When he left there before the Civil War his parents and cousin had a prosperous ranch and a mercantile in town.But while he's been away, a boyhood friend has become the town boss and is looking to take over the ranch and the mercantile. Lou's father Stacy Keach has borrowed for the store with a loan on the ranch which boyhood friend Vincent Spano wants paid in full.Spano's moving on a few fronts in that town and in the tradition of many westerns the town looks for a champion and Lou fills the bill.Lone Rider reminds me a whole lot of some of the Anthony Mann/James Stewart westerns of the Fifties. Phillips is playing a part that half a century ago Jimmy Stewart would have been playing. In fact there are distinct plot elements from The Far Country and Bend of the River in Lone Rider.And fifty years ago Lone Rider would have been released on the big screen when westerns had more of a market and would have been acclaimed and enjoyed.But for western fans like your's truly, we still enjoy them.