Rio Grande (1950) :
Brief Review -
Enjoyable, because John Wayne aka Duke has a new accent and a look but it's no match to his other great Western flicks. Watching John Wayne in Western drama is a different experience altogether. You have a reason to spend somw nice time during the watch even if the script does not offer anything. When it got a good script then it made a classic combo but other times too, Wayne and Western combo made watchable films. By 1950s, Wayne had established his image as a Cowboy and Duke by playing those machoistic characters multiple times but not every film was that great. However, he did left impact most of the times because the characters had such varieties. Rio Grande is another great role for him but it's another not so good film for him.
Rio Grande has nothing to fascinate you in the storyline and except for John's characters, all the other characters are poorly written. A cavalry officer posted on the Rio Grande is confronted with murderous raiding Apaches, a son who's a risk-taking recruit and his wife from whom he has been separated for many years. The two things that work in the film are, John Wayne's performance as he gets a new look with that mustache and slightly different accent too and the plenty of action with long-shots. Although it is slow, it is quite enjoyable. What drags the film is, the supporting characters and lackluster writing. Maureen O'Hara's character is a complete mismatch to the story. Their Romance, longing, relationship all messed up. No disrespect to her Beauty, i like her gorgeous face but that does not mean good cinema. Not just her but even other characters like their son, the General, the other companions everything looked scattered and mismatched. John Ford has made many great films but this one is surely not my favorite. Overall, an above average film slightly boosted by John Wayne's contemporary phenomena and nice, long action sequences.
RATING - 6/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Enjoyable, because John Wayne aka Duke has a new accent and a look but it's no match to his other great Western flicks. Watching John Wayne in Western drama is a different experience altogether. You have a reason to spend somw nice time during the watch even if the script does not offer anything. When it got a good script then it made a classic combo but other times too, Wayne and Western combo made watchable films. By 1950s, Wayne had established his image as a Cowboy and Duke by playing those machoistic characters multiple times but not every film was that great. However, he did left impact most of the times because the characters had such varieties. Rio Grande is another great role for him but it's another not so good film for him.
Rio Grande has nothing to fascinate you in the storyline and except for John's characters, all the other characters are poorly written. A cavalry officer posted on the Rio Grande is confronted with murderous raiding Apaches, a son who's a risk-taking recruit and his wife from whom he has been separated for many years. The two things that work in the film are, John Wayne's performance as he gets a new look with that mustache and slightly different accent too and the plenty of action with long-shots. Although it is slow, it is quite enjoyable. What drags the film is, the supporting characters and lackluster writing. Maureen O'Hara's character is a complete mismatch to the story. Their Romance, longing, relationship all messed up. No disrespect to her Beauty, i like her gorgeous face but that does not mean good cinema. Not just her but even other characters like their son, the General, the other companions everything looked scattered and mismatched. John Ford has made many great films but this one is surely not my favorite. Overall, an above average film slightly boosted by John Wayne's contemporary phenomena and nice, long action sequences.
RATING - 6/10*
By - #samthebestest.