High Noon (2000)

Still a good story

This is a film based on the western novel, The Tin Star. This particular version is a Ron Hardy remake (headlining Tom Skerritt) of the Gary Cooper movie classic by the same name - High Noon.

The story is austerely set in an Old West town, and is simple . . . the bad guy has been released from prison and is arriving on the noon train. He will seek revenge on the Marshal. The bad guy is bringing friends. Sounds pretty familiar. Add that the Marshal is a newlywed, and ready to retire. He also has an old flame in town. The townspeople love him but will not physically risk themselves to help him. The Marshal is facing this alone and has a bad feeling about his situation but is resolved to be faithful to his duty. It's a good story, but simple and puts a big load on the lead actor to pull it off well.

I'll go ahead and jump onboard the comparison wagon (everyone else has), and comment on this version as compared to the original. Reviewers are being really tough on this remake, but, my opinion . . . if you've never seen the original, you'll enjoy this. If you have already seen the original, you'll probably still enjoy this. A film remake analogy that comes to mind is the great, On the Beach, from Neville Shute's novel. The original was one of the greatest films of all time. The remake is a pretty good film.

This newer version is missing a few things - mainly Gary Cooper. It also lacks that classic music theme and the general ambiance of those great 40's/50's Hollywood westerns. On the upside, Tom Skerritt does a very good job of selling himself as an aging and vulnerable lawman ready to retire. Susanna Thompson was rather weak as the newlywed Quaker bride, but the rest of the supporting cast is adequate. Production values are moderately good and the set is believable with plenty of mud and general grunge that was lacking in the original.

It was a nice re-visit to a favorite old movie tale. October 27, 2006

Nothing but a clone...

I was a huge fan of the original movie, and I went into this one expecting something different. Some sort of new twist or perspective.

What I got is basically the exact same movie, only this time in color, with a less impressive casting job, and all the dialogue rewritten so that the plotline is spoon fed to you.

I don't know what's worse, the fact that certain shots are remade almost perfectly from the old movie, or the fact that almost the first twenty minutes are devoted to characters explaining to each other things which were obvious to the viewer in the first movie, without the characters stopping to tell each other how they felt. For a movie that's based around the last hour before noon, there's a remarkable lack of suspense here.

It would have been hard to top the original, but they didn't even bother trying here. This is just a poorly made clone. August 3, 2005

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO IMPROVE ON PERFECTION

I saw this DVD in the bargain bin at my local Wal-Mart for $4.99. At that price, and being a big fan of the original, I was intrigued. I am also a fan of Tom Skerritt who stars in this one as Will Kane, the hapless marshal whose integrity and honor force him to make a solitary stand against four bad guys and an apathetic town.

I am sorry to say that, despite a valiant effort by Skerritt, this remake and the rest of the cast fall woefully short. Even at bargain price I would pass on this one if I were you. It's just an impossible task to do what is attempted here: remaking or improving on perfection. Gary Cooper defined the role of Will Kane. Period. You might as well attempt a remake of THE COWBOYS, TRUE GRIT, THE SHOOTIST or THE SEARCHERS with someone other than John Wayne in the lead.

THE HORSEMAN
October 21, 2004

Don't even bother

In fact, don't even think about it. That's the advice someone should have given to the producers of this remake. The original "High Noon" is a movie that cannot be improved upon. No one could possibly bring more to the film than Gary Cooper did. Tom Skerritt brings only a pale imitation. I rank this as the second-stupidest remake of all time. It's not horribly awful, like the laughably awful remake of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" with counter-culture kung fu star Tom Laughlin ("Billy Jack Goes to Washington"). It's simply bland and generally inoffensive. That is an offense in itself, however, considering what you could have bought with the same money. Okay, the producers of this film made a mistake, but you don't have to. Get the original and skip this tepid made-for-TV travesty. August 18, 2004

A waste of time!

Do not try to remake a masterpiece. I like Tom Skeritt, but he is no Gary Cooper. Original "High Noon" cannot be remade--so leave it alone. The music help make the tension in the original, the new version has hadly any music at all. Very poor don't waste your time-- watch "Dumb and Dumber" instead.... August 2, 2004

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