The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning (2007)

Really Surprised!

Absolutely the worst movie.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

I've never watched the original Dukes of Hazzard TV series, so I don't know if the 2005 feature film was inferior to the show, but at least it contained somewhat entertaining car chases and a few chuckle-inducing jokes if not much more. The made-for-TV prequel is basically more of the same with a less famous cast and fewer funny scenes.The story is set in the teenage years of Bo and Luke Duke (Jonathan Bennett and Randy Wayne) and recounts how they first met each other and got involved in the moonshining business in the rural Hazzard County in the southern USA. A local politician Boss Hogg (Christopher McDonald) is blackmailing the boys' uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson) to give up his liquor business but Bo and Luke decide to put an end to such plans, all the while chasing girls and poking fun at the inept sheriff (Harland Williams) in various ways. In addition to the origin of the boys' friendship, we also get to witness the birth of General Lee and the transformation of Daisy Duke (April Scott) from a nerdy wallflower to her famous sexy self.Most of the 2005 film's main cast doesn't return, and sadly the new actors are no match for the old ones. The two stars are quite bland, and Joel Moore as their mechanic friend Cooter is more annoying than funny. Christopher McDonald is alright in his angry role though, even if his performance is inevitably overshadowed by that of Burt Reynolds in the first film. As a refreshing exception, country music legend Willie Nelson does reprise his role as Jesse, delivering by far the funniest lines in the movie. Besides telling amusing jokes and anecdotes, he also gets to play a couple of songs in a party scene.The humour is mostly very clichéd and unimaginative. The cross dressing, toilet humour and female nudity failed to entertain me much as it's obvious that the writers haven't even tried to think of any new ways of presenting the same old gags. The series trademark car chases and jumps are automatically slightly entertaining though. Still, the action scenes and Willie Nelson aren't enough to save the movie from being a dull cash-in entry in a series that doesn't look like it was full of masterpieces in the first place. My expectations were so low that I wasn't really disappointed, but I certainly don't recommend The Beginning for anyone but the biggest fans of the first feature film.

i was a fan of the TV show.so i thought this might be good. boy was i wrong. i don't remember that they had air-bags in cars in 1979 they did't have hand-held cell phones. so that really did the movie in for me. but the new boys were hot. it was interesting that they explained how they started sliding across the hood. so don't rent or buy this movie, let someone else get the movie then you can watch it. save your money for a really good movie.which this is not movie. go out and get the real dukes of hazzard. not the two rip off ones that was the direct to video or the big Hollywood movie that took they names after the good at the time TV series. more hunting latter

Growing up The Dukes of Hazzard was one of my favorite shows. The cast had charisma, and the show had an authentic, country feel to it. The 2005 movie was part of the "re-imagination" trend in movies that started with The Flintstones and continues today with this atrocity. Instead of re-imagining them in today's times they should have cast the younger Dukes in the 1960's when they would have been legit teenagers, to keep in continuity with the show. They should have done this with the 2005 movie, too. This movie is a cynical, straight-to-DVD-and-TV, bottom-of-the-barrel hack job and it barely held my attention.The problem with the plot is that it's a low-rent version of the TV show. Aren't there any writers in Hollywood who can write an original Dukes of Hazzard movie? My guess is there are plenty, but the producers have too much contempt for their audience to think they would appreciate a gritty, true-to-the-spirit-of-Hazzard script. Fans of the original series shouldn't avoid it because of profanity, they should avoid it because it is Dukes of Hazzard in name only now.The most important thing to me is the casting of Daisy, and they failed miserably here. In the series Daisy was a smart woman who happened to wear cut-off shorts. In 2005 she was a sexpot wearing cut-off shorts, nothing more than eye candy, playing the part as a parody. There's little to say about April Scott: she isn't even close to being a young Daisy in this movie. I'm not talking about physical proportions (although I think she's too thin for a southern Belle); I'm talking about charisma and the intangibles you need to play an iconic character. She doesn't have it.The lameness extends to all aspects of the re-imagining. The characters have become lame caricatures of themselves, and Hazzard County is no longer the dusty, mythical Confederate backdrop it once was. There's no point in "re-imagining" the Dukes of Hazzard if you're going to get politically correct. The original series was uncynically proud to be Dixie, and that was a huge part of it's appeal. If this movie is a finger-in-the-wind to see if a new TV series will work, I hope it fails miserably in ratings and sales.And Willie, did you really need the paycheck?

This one is better then the one that played at the movie if you liked the TV show you will like this movie.Its got every thing the show had and a little more. the movie was funny and Willie nelson does a good job once again. Cant wait for it to come to DVD so i can add to my collection of dukes.And daisy's hot as ever course jessica simpson is pretty out but this chick fit the part. The boys playing bo and Luke did a good job. Even thou in the TV show bo was not that dumb but it made the show funny so i suggest to sit back if you haven't seen it yet and grab some beers and order a pizza cause this movie is worth the watch . I hope there will be a part 3 cause the dukes live on.