***Warning more than likely this contains some spoilers***
Well may I start off by saying that I always have been a huge fan of westerns. My grandfather and I would watch John Wayne movies for days straight whenever I visited and ever since then I check out just about every Western that i can get my greedy little hands on. The problem has been that Westerns went out with Silverado. Even went they try them lately like the big name, and coincidentally excellent, 3:10 to Yuma they struggle at the box office. So what was once America's only original type of cinema and the one time savior of the film industry has been reduced to straight to video (Renagade etc.), or high profile films that wander out to minor theatrical runs (Seraphim Falls etc.) To the former category we add the Casper Van Dien actioneer Aces N' Eights. The results in Straight to DVD westerns has not been good to say the least. They have been plainly awful (Ghost Rock & Renegade), or merely passable fare (Miracle at Sage Creek & Avenging Angel). Which category does this one fall into you may ask, well neither really...
The film starts out with a group of hired guns led by the vicious Tate (Jeff Kober) running a group of people, in Texas, in typical violent Western fashion. This was pretty much the last straw for Luke Rivers (Casper Van Dien) who rides off in search of a better life. The story picks up 3 years later in the Arizona Territory.
As is the case in many westerns a greedy landgrabber Mr. Howard (William Atherton) is keen on buying, or stealing all the parcels of land in the path of the railroad. To accomplish this goal he has hired the aforementioned Tate to deal with some of the more stubborn landowners. The foremost of these landowners being Thurmond Prescott, the amazingly still grinning and spry as ever Ernest Borgnine who has, conveniently enough, taken in Luke. Further compounding Mr. Howard's attempts to grab the land by any means necessary is the arrival of of Jess Riley (Jack Noseworthy) a lawyer from Chicago who has the audacity to actually seek a peaceful resolution to the current crisis, but since when has that made a good western? Therefore, Tate brings on another gunslinger DC Cracker (Bruce Boxleitner) a very mysterious is he or isn't he a bad guy character. Together they attempt to run off the landowner's behind Mr. Riley's back.
***Spoilers*** As one can probably guess the gunslinger's manage to gun down Mr. Prescott, and the reformed Luke is forced to strap on his guns once again as the film builds to a pretty dang impressive showdown between the railroad men and Rivers. This film isn't without share of problems the scenes with the landowner's getting gunned down at times seemed a little redundant and Luke's relationship with the local schoolmarm Jo Tanner (Deidre Quinn) is very underdeveloped. the film clocks in at a brisk 87 minutes and it would've been nice to see them take an extra half hour to flesh some of the relationships out, but don't let that deter you as the script, from Pale Rider scribe Dennis Shryack and fist timer Ronald M. Cohen really picks up more and more momentum as it goes. Veteren TV project vet Craig R. Baxley (Action Jackson & half the Stephen King miniseries ever made) handles the project with a very steady and at times stylish hand. He really accomplishes more than one would think possible on a three and half week shoot. What further propels this film forward is the cast Casper Van Dien has never been better as the grizzled gunhand, Ernest Borgnine is simply unbelievable as his eyes twinkle, he rides horseback with a shotgun, and still looks menacing and he was born in 1917! Jeff Kober oozes menace as Tate, Bruce Boxleitner nearly steals the show (he would have if every one else hadn't been so good as well) as the aging gunslinger. Jack Noseworthy looks and nails his role as the good guy lawyer and Deidre Quinn did very well with what she was given. When all is said and done this is a rip-roaring Western like they used to make and is by far and wide an extreme overachiever in the straight to DVD realm. The last frame felt like a bit of a cop out, but still if you are a fan of Westerns, action, or just good old fun in the movies don't let anything stop you from seeing Aces N' Eights...
7/10
As usual my apologies for my horrid spelling/grammar...
Well may I start off by saying that I always have been a huge fan of westerns. My grandfather and I would watch John Wayne movies for days straight whenever I visited and ever since then I check out just about every Western that i can get my greedy little hands on. The problem has been that Westerns went out with Silverado. Even went they try them lately like the big name, and coincidentally excellent, 3:10 to Yuma they struggle at the box office. So what was once America's only original type of cinema and the one time savior of the film industry has been reduced to straight to video (Renagade etc.), or high profile films that wander out to minor theatrical runs (Seraphim Falls etc.) To the former category we add the Casper Van Dien actioneer Aces N' Eights. The results in Straight to DVD westerns has not been good to say the least. They have been plainly awful (Ghost Rock & Renegade), or merely passable fare (Miracle at Sage Creek & Avenging Angel). Which category does this one fall into you may ask, well neither really...
The film starts out with a group of hired guns led by the vicious Tate (Jeff Kober) running a group of people, in Texas, in typical violent Western fashion. This was pretty much the last straw for Luke Rivers (Casper Van Dien) who rides off in search of a better life. The story picks up 3 years later in the Arizona Territory.
As is the case in many westerns a greedy landgrabber Mr. Howard (William Atherton) is keen on buying, or stealing all the parcels of land in the path of the railroad. To accomplish this goal he has hired the aforementioned Tate to deal with some of the more stubborn landowners. The foremost of these landowners being Thurmond Prescott, the amazingly still grinning and spry as ever Ernest Borgnine who has, conveniently enough, taken in Luke. Further compounding Mr. Howard's attempts to grab the land by any means necessary is the arrival of of Jess Riley (Jack Noseworthy) a lawyer from Chicago who has the audacity to actually seek a peaceful resolution to the current crisis, but since when has that made a good western? Therefore, Tate brings on another gunslinger DC Cracker (Bruce Boxleitner) a very mysterious is he or isn't he a bad guy character. Together they attempt to run off the landowner's behind Mr. Riley's back.
***Spoilers*** As one can probably guess the gunslinger's manage to gun down Mr. Prescott, and the reformed Luke is forced to strap on his guns once again as the film builds to a pretty dang impressive showdown between the railroad men and Rivers. This film isn't without share of problems the scenes with the landowner's getting gunned down at times seemed a little redundant and Luke's relationship with the local schoolmarm Jo Tanner (Deidre Quinn) is very underdeveloped. the film clocks in at a brisk 87 minutes and it would've been nice to see them take an extra half hour to flesh some of the relationships out, but don't let that deter you as the script, from Pale Rider scribe Dennis Shryack and fist timer Ronald M. Cohen really picks up more and more momentum as it goes. Veteren TV project vet Craig R. Baxley (Action Jackson & half the Stephen King miniseries ever made) handles the project with a very steady and at times stylish hand. He really accomplishes more than one would think possible on a three and half week shoot. What further propels this film forward is the cast Casper Van Dien has never been better as the grizzled gunhand, Ernest Borgnine is simply unbelievable as his eyes twinkle, he rides horseback with a shotgun, and still looks menacing and he was born in 1917! Jeff Kober oozes menace as Tate, Bruce Boxleitner nearly steals the show (he would have if every one else hadn't been so good as well) as the aging gunslinger. Jack Noseworthy looks and nails his role as the good guy lawyer and Deidre Quinn did very well with what she was given. When all is said and done this is a rip-roaring Western like they used to make and is by far and wide an extreme overachiever in the straight to DVD realm. The last frame felt like a bit of a cop out, but still if you are a fan of Westerns, action, or just good old fun in the movies don't let anything stop you from seeing Aces N' Eights...
7/10
As usual my apologies for my horrid spelling/grammar...