Crossfire Trail (2001)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Blistering performances.

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.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

CROSSFIRE TRAIL has Tom Selleck keeping a promise to a dying friend to look after his widow (the always gorgeous Virginia Madsen) and ranch. He does so with the help of several buddies, among them the always colorful Wilford Brimley who is well hidden under a huge wig, facial hair and massive Stetson. Mark Harmon, playing a villain for once, has designs on the lady and the ranch. He brings in a bunch of hired guns, headed up by Brad Johnson, to settle Selleck's hash. You can guess whose hash gets settled. This is a TV movie that belies its made for TV nature. It is beautifully shot and wonderfully plotted and acted. For my money, Selleck can keep playing cowboys forever. Whether he wants to or not may be another matter.

Though the story is entirely formulaic, gorgeous Canadian backgrounds and excellent casting give "Crossfire Trail" a formidable presence on the small screen courtesy of cable mainstay TNT. I never could quite picture Tom Selleck in Westerns following his 'Magnum PI' days, but he's entirely convincing here as Rafe Covington, fulfilling a dying wish to a friend who was shanghaied and beaten to death. His arch rival is town boss Bruce Barkow (Mark Harmon), who's effectiveness as a villain requires him to overcome his good looks and fine manners. Maybe that's why he's such a great bad guy, even without a black hat; his nasty turn near the end of the story runs completely against any stereotype you may have of him from his earlier work. But if the devil is in the details, you really have to admire the casting of the supporting players. The part of Joe Gill doesn't look like it would fit Wilford Brimley, but Brimley makes it his as he takes up with Rafe's cause. William Sanderson as the bartender starts out one dimensionally until that fateful stand he takes in defense of Anne Rodney (Virginia Madsen), and wait, didn't Barry Corbin look and sound just great channeling Edgar Buchanan as Sheriff Moncrief? With lines like "Guess today wasn't my day to die" and "That wasn't shootin', that was killin'", the dialog is a bit clichéd, but doesn't suffer from being over emphasized. That's not the reason to tune in anyway, what you're going for is good old fashioned good versus evil, and there's plenty of that courtesy of Barkow, his toady hoods and hired gun Beau Dorn (Brad Johnson). Dorn looked a bit too sophisticated though for his part, I would have preferred a more seasoned looking villain like John Russell's Stockburn character from "Pale Rider". The final showdown has a bit of "High Noon" going for it with the last bullet fired, fitting since Anne Rodney had to put up with her fair share of abuse.In fact, watch that gun fight between Beau Dorn and Covington closely. As Rafe stands facing the dying Dorn, he's shot in the front right shoulder by Barkow, but as the camera pulls away, Barkow is clearly standing well in back of Rafe, with Rafe's back to Barkow. That was some exercise in ballistics! Tom Selleck's performances in Western films seem to be getting better with age, 'Crossfire' compares favorably with 1990's "Quigley Down Under" and is heads and shoulders above 1982's "The Shadow Riders". With any luck, there might be one more good part out there for Selleck as he turns the corner on sixty and heads into the sunset.

This was an excellent western that was beautifully photographed. This looks absolutely stunning on DVD and provides some of the prettiest scenery I've ever viewed on film.With Tom Selleck in the lead and supporting help from Virginia Madsen, Wilfred Brimley, Mark Harmon and others, this is a good cast for this made-for-cable TV movie. There wasn't much action in here but a lot of tension as Selleck fights off bad-guy Harmon, who is trying to marry Madsen because of the oil-rich property she owns (and is unaware how valuable it is).My only complaint is that this is a frustrating story to watch at many intervals because for most of the film Madsen does not believe Selleck, who is just trying to help. Selleck does his normal excellent portrayal of a rugged cowboy.Overall, a good movie and highly-recommended for western fans.

What an fresh story: A banker's trying to get the widow's ranch; The good guy kills the local bad guy so the banker brings in a hired gun; the townspeople finally rise up to help at the messy showdown.Manipulative and DD (deadly dull) TV-grade fare in every respect: clichéd dialogue, holes in the story (if Covingington is so tough, why didn't he stop the beating on the ship?), one-dimensional characters, no chemistry among the leads, hard but honorable Indians, and a hero that says "mam" as often as feasible.And there's plenty of synecdoche: ridin, ropin, more ridin, mendin fences, herdin, ridin through cricks, herdin through cricks, lookin out over cricks, and then ridin through more cricks; then more ropin, ridin, fencin, buildin.As with any TV or Disney pap, your ability to imagine is reduced and you end up with fewer brain cells. More reasonable Westerns include, Lonesome Dove, Open Range, Tombstone, The Unforgiven or even Conagher - at least Sam Elliott tries to act sometimes.