jmfjbf
This a wonderful sequel to the award winning Lonesome Dove miniseries in the 1980's. This sequel is perhaps, better than the original. It is definitely more family friendly. The language is more subdued. There is plenty of violence and one particular scene with Cherokee Jack is particularly gruesome. However, overall a great movie. The acting is superb. William Peterson is fantastic. Such a great dramatic actor with a quick sense of wit and comic timing. Jon Voight aptly fills Tommy Lee Jones' shoes as Captain Call. Ricky Shroder gives a great heart-filled performance as the young boy who grew up with no family to claim him. Highly recommended.
jazbone2003
At first glance of this mini... I was a bit disappointed that Tommy Lee Jones and Anjelica Huston didn't return to the cast. Both John Voight and Barbara Hershey did commendable jobs replacing very important characters for the continuing saga of this legendary Epic Western. Cherokee Jack Jackson (Haysbert) played an excellent bad guy, and Louis Gossett Jr. was, as always, true to form with his excellent acting skills.The drama that seemed true to life in many scenes, including one of the best, where the valiant shoot-out ended with Ranger Walker being killed made me feel that I was actually in the film. Return to Lonesome Dove was to me, almost up to the quality of the first of the series. The next 2 follow ups with James Garner as Call just didn't make it for me. And that Lorena marries Pea Eye? How the heck did that get in their? That was a total mismatch of characters. The first 2 of the series made the Epic story, the next 2 in no way were of the same quality.Now, if the first 2 could be remastered in Dolby Digital and an Anamorphic presentation, the films could be where they should have been like the movies of today.
IvoryCamaro
Let me say first off that I am a huge fan of the original series Lonesome Dove and the book it was based from. I have put off watching this sequel for the better part of 10 years due to the bad reviews I'd heard about it. If Tommy Lee Jones wasn't playing Capt. Call I didn't see the point. If Larry McMurtry wasn't involved why should I care? How wrong I was.This is in so many ways a worthy sequel to Lonesome Dove, maybe even more so than the dark mood of Streets Of Laredo. The story, acting, production, cinematography are all top-notch. Of course the script isn't as colorful as Lonesome Dove but it has it's moments. And, much to my surprise, there are bits of Lonesome Done in this series; the relationship between July and Clara, completely dismissed in the prequel, is brought up here almost identical to the book, a most welcome surprise. The story isn't all roses, it has it's surprises too. By far the biggest surprise is Jon Voight's interpretation of Capt. Call. While not a direct copy of Tommy Lee Jones' his is both faithful and unique to Voight's credit. The cast is fantastic all across the board, and I don't think Rick Schroeder has done a better job of acting than in this series. Oliver Reed practically steals the show here, he is superb in a role that makes you care for his character as equally as you hate him.It is worth it to watch this if you haven't due to bad criticisms, especially that the DVD is so affordable (I got the 2-disc set for $10.99, you can probably find it cheaper). It is in no way the disappointment that Dead Man's Walk turned out (well, it was for me). And MCMurtry was involved with that one!
dana-27
The first time around, I was so shocked not to see Robert and Tommy, all that could go through my mind was how bad this production must be.The second time around, after i had had a little talk with myself, i snapped on reality. If i wanted to watch Lonesome Dove, all i had to do was go buy the video. (strangely, i had already bought the video and worn the cassette out, but guys can get so focused on trivia).This is not Lonesome Dove, this is a new story with new actors and actresses faced with a chore greater than good acting. They have to live with Lonesome Dove, the greatest mini in history. And they have to tell us a new story.Now, I don't have the nerve of Jon or Barbara, i would never have tried it, but they did. And they did a damn fine job.The second time i watched this mini, i enjoyed it a lot. As well as a chance to think of old friends, i got to meet new ones. And it was a good tale, told in a good way. It may not totally get to Lonesome Dove standards, BUT WHAT DOES?? If we measure everything against Lonesome Dove, we could throw away our tv's. And to be fair, if we measure everything else against Return to Lonesome Dove, we might not throw our tv's away, we would just unplug them for the evening.I liked it. It is a good mini. I hope you each will watch it twice. The second time, you might just enjoy it. Robert and Tommy will not mind, I promise.