Audience Rated by buyers PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Type of bind: Video On Demand
Release Date: November 19, 2008
Running Time: 127 minutes
Sale Popularity Level: 7962
Studio: Warner Bros.
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Rated by buyers -
If you've had a rough day, slip the 1994 version of MAVERICK into your DVD player, and sit back for two hours of smiles and thigh-slappin' fun. Mel Gibson and Richard Donner got along so well on the LETHAL WEAPON movies that they teamed up again on this sideways take on the Western. The script, courtesy of one of Hollywood's best, William Goldman (BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER, ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, MARATHON MAN), takes off from the original 1957-60 TV series and drops Bret Maverick into the Biggest Poker Game In The West, to the tune of a $25,000 buy-in. Mel's easy charm and penchant for practical jokes works well for Bret, so the role fits him like a comfortable shoe. The original Maverick, the wonderful James Garner, comes in as Marshal Zane Cooper, who is part of the Game to protect the money from underhandedness. Of course there is lots and lots of underhandedness. The third part of this triangle is double Oscar-winner Jodie Foster, taking a refreshing break from drama to essay the delicious Annabelle Bransford, whose floating Southernish drawl attracts both Bret and Coop.
Strong support is provided by Graham Greene as Bret's Native American friend Joseph, who loves a good con just as much as Bret, the late James Coburn (what a great voice!) as Commodore Duvall, organizer of the Big Game, and future Doc Ock Alfred Molina as Angel, the main Villain of the film.
MAVERICK is all froth, designed to go down as easy as a good dark German beer. Donner hired pretty much every Western character actor still in the business, so you will have a lot of fun spotting cameos by Dub Taylor, Geoffrey Lewis, Paul L. Smith, Dan Hedaya, Will Hutchins (SUAGRFOOT), Doug McClure, Denver Pyle (watch the hat!), Henry Darrow, William Smith, James Drury (I used to watch THE VIRGINIAN every week), Paul Brinegar (Raw-hiiiiiiide!), the regal William Marshall, Robert Fuller and Bill Henderson. Also keep an eye out for Michael Paul Chan, John Fogerty (yes, really!), Reba McEntire, Waylon Jennings and Kathy Mattea as a husband and wife who can't decide who owns the gun, Vince Gill, Carlene Carter, Clint Black (one, two, THREE!), and a certain gentleman whose unmistakable voice betrays his identity to Bret during a bank robbery.
Oh, yes: don't forget Margot Kidder as Margret Mary. Or is it Mary Margret?
Randy Newman provided the classic Western score, with his own idiosyncratic flourishes. Not quite as memorable as THE NATURAL or TOY STORY, but very Randy. The score is augumented with a passel o' tunes by Clint Black, Carlene Carter, Waylon Jennings and other sidewindin' bushwhackers. The beautiful cinematography is by Vilmos Zsigmond (Oscar winner for CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND).
Lots of action, lots of gunplay (heavy accent on the "play"), lots of great lines delivered by actors having a great time. Not surprisingly, MAVERICK was a big hit in the Summer of 1994.
Warners has issued MAVERICK as a bare-bones DVD, with Pan and Scan on one side of the disc and 2:35 to 1 Widescreen on the other. The transfer to digital is bright and clear, best seen on a big-screen TV, and the sound is great, nice and sharp, with balanced bass and midrange. No trailer, but there is a section called "Gallery", with cast and crew information and bios, background information on the making of the film, and a few other tidbits.
It would have been nice to get a commentary track for MAVERICK, as Donner and Gibson would have been a hoot. As it is, this is still a keeper for your DVD library.
And since they left it open, where's the sequel?
Rated by buyers 
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Just look at this cover and tell me that Jodi Foster is not hot. If you said she is not hot, you are a liar and blind!!!
Buy this movie and have a Jodi Foster night with it.
Rated by buyers 
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Obviously my tastes are not mainstream, cause I really didn't like this movie. For the PG rating, I didn't appreciate all the swearing and the slurpy kisses/seduction between Foster and Gibson. IT had its funny moments, the Indian scenes especially, and an amazing cast of cameos. But it was just too Hollywood for me and the language really got in the way for me.
Rated by buyers -
Maverick as Western based action comedy is simply excellent. Its starcast also adds to the sucess of the hollywood blockbuster. The movie is so realistically filmed that it at times doesn't seem like a 90's movie at all. It looks exactly like the movies The Good, the bad and the ugly and Fistfull of Dollars only even better. The animatronic rattle snakes used in the movie look completely realistic and life like. However, there are a few draw backs few of them can be noted. One is the make up for Alfred Molina. He does not look anything like himself. I agree that he is the bad guy but please not that bad. And Jodie Foster's making her escape with the money is completely inappropriate. Now that both of them play theives instead of outwitting each other their characters should team up.
Rated by buyers -
...this movie is just plain fun. The characters are great and it was wonderful to see all the old actors/singers again who take part in the poker game on the ship. Pop some corn, pull out the blankets, and enjoy.
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