When I heard about this series coming to television I
thought it could be interesting. When I heard that Kevin Costner and Bill
Paxton were starring I definitely wanted to see how they did. My DVR wasn't
working at the time so I was glad to hear it was coming to DVD. Unfortunately
the series didn't live up to my expectations.
We all know the basics of the story, two warring families in
the West Virginia/Kentucky area in the late 1800s. This show goes a little more
in depth than any we've heard before starting with the original men who were
friends only to become deadly enemies later in life.
Anse Hatfield (Costner) and Randall McCoy (Paxton) are seen
fighting for the Confederacy as the show opens. Tired of the killing and
battle, certain that they're working for a losing cause, Anse decides to quit
and head home. Randall disagrees and stays only to be captured while the rest
of their unit is all killed.
Anse returns home to start a lumber business and work the
land with his family. Randall comes home after years in a battlefield prison, a
beaten man and one who won't forgive Anse for leaving him behind. Added to this
is the fact that Anse' Uncle Jim has killed a relative of Randall (without
witnesses) and the feud between the two families is started.
Along the way various arguments and battles between the two
families continue. With as many members of both as are seen here it makes you
wonder if there were any other families living in the same area at the time!
Bloodshed sways back and forth, hate festers between not just the two men but
their families as well and no happy ending is in sight.
So why was it a disappointment? It was boring! The movie
moves along at a snails pace giving us details of each and every incident that
happens between the two families. The smallest slight is given screen time and
the eventual outcome is evident from the start. Perhaps the makers of this
series were hoping to give some depth to the story we've all been told, but do
we really need the amount of depth they offer here? I found myself on more than
one occasion checking the time display on the DVD player to find out just how
much was left to watch and that was just on the first disc!
The acting is all over the place. Tom Berenger as Uncle Jim
does a good job of being dislikeable. Costner does a great job at trying to
bring harmony to the situation, trying to resolve problems only to be stopped
dead in his tracks and forced to change into the mean old SOB he becomes.
Paxton, an actor I've always thought highly of, just seems to be a one note
ball of anger throughout.
The locations used here look drab and unattractive. Having
family in West Virginia (thought I haven't been there in some time) I know that
the area looks much better than presented here. Perhaps the idea was to show it
in the worst light possible to go along with the way things were in those days.
The biggest problem with this show remains the length and
the fact that it is boring, taking far too much time to tell the story. Great
mini-series have always taken time to unfold a story but those have always held
our attention from start to finish. While this isn't the worst mini-series ever
it does offer little entertainment value except for pure history buffs.
Click here to order.
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