The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Maybe it wasn't really like this in the Old West but this film does fill me with the hope that at least sometimes it had these moments. This film is pure entertainment, not a historical documentary and certainly not, at any point, to be taken seriously. Maverick's (Mel Gibson's) character as a likable rogue had a surreal and very believable chemistry with Annabelle Bransford (Jodie Foster) and a pleasant nod to the "original" maverick that old standby, James Garner.The humour is firmly tongue-in-cheek and Foster does indeed "do southern" very acceptably and looks as radiant as any woman in the role could. Her unique brand of energy, injured innocence, scheming minxicity (I made that up) and twangy edginess give the part a solid and definitive profile. No man of Maverick's marque (or any other for that matter) could resist chasing a temptress of such charm, beauty and duplicity through a hundred countries to get his money back and would indeed have a wonderful time doing it.I'm not a Mel Gibson fan but this exceptional part was cast against type and Mel performed very well. As I said, the chemistry between Mel and Jodie is tangible, perhaps because they're close friends off-screen as well.Garner is solid, if a little pedestrian (don't mistake it for gravitas Mr. G), but since he's already got his (metaphorical) halo it's hard to find fault with him and particularly for his acceptably human (if feigned) reluctance to join a firefight with a bunch of drunken outlaws. Joseph (Graham Greene) is outstanding as is Angel (fellow countryman Alfred Molina who has proved himself many times since) as the kind of necessary semi-villain/rogue types that help show Maverick, no angel himself, in a slightly less predatory light.This film pretends to be nothing but what it is and that stands to its eternal credit. There's no doubt, given the cast performances, that this film was a hoot to make. Such films are vital to lighten our moods from the sombre turns they can take sometimes by reminding us that probably it was much worse in the past, and for exactly that reason, it might also have been quite a bit better.

Plot: A card player in the Old West tries to win a cards tournament worth $250,000 but finds that someone is out to stop him.MAVERICK is a big screen adaptation of the old TV show about a gifted card player (and crook) in the Wild West. After learning about the tournament Maverick has to raise the $25,000 entrance fee, which is what he spends most of the movie doing. He finds himself chased by villains, hunted as human prey by a mad Russian noble and alternately assisted and hindered by a female grifter and a leathery old lawman. He also meets a bunch of post-modern Indians but the jokes are pretty thin and it only serves to pad the movie out far beyond what it ought to have been. The leads are good, the script fun and the direction competent yet the film never quite suckers you in. There are enough fights (OK), plot twists (a goodie at the end) and jokes to keep you going but it doesn't lift off and a good half-hour ought to have been left on the cutting room floor.

This movie was a rather good western movie, a genre that I am not the biggest fan of. Granted, in the case of this movie it is more of a comedy so that helps this one rise above the typical western movie in my eyes. So does the cast as you get Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and Alfred Molina as well as veteran actors James Garner (who played Maverick on the television show) and James Coburn. The story has Maverick in the middle of a rather unpleasant situation, you get to see what led to that as the movie unfolds to show you how he got there and then proceeds to show what happens afterward. Maverick is trying to raise the cash he needs to enter a huge poker tournament on a riverboat, but alas he is having a lot of difficulty. Not only does he have to deal with an over the line rival named Angel (Alfred Molina) he also has to worry about a nice gal that seems to have taken a liken to him, or the fact that she can dupe him at almost any turn. There are also thieves to contend with as Maverick gets tricked into lending a helping hand and mad crazed Indians as well. All this before he gets into the tournament where there are so many double crosses it gets rather funny. So yes, this one was really funny and it had its moments of action as well. It never, however, takes itself to seriously as the actors seem to really be having fun with their roles in this one.

Technically, "Maverick" is the big screen version of the classic TV show, which, like the movie, starred James Garner. As a film, it's a mixture of adventure and screwball comedy. These two genres are not immune to mixing, in fact the Golden Age of Hollywood was filled with movies like this. Unfortunately, the attempt to recreate this kind of a movie is not entirely successful.Bret Maverick (Mel Gibson) is a professional gambler in the Old West who is looking to enter in huge poker game with a $500,000 pot. Unfortunately, he's $3,000 short. So, with his would-be companions, a pickpocket named Annabelle Bransford (Jodie Foster) and Marshal Zane Cooper (James Garner), he sets out to collect the money that is owed to him by his cronies. Of course, nothing goes quite according to plan.The biggest problem is that the film just isn't that fun. The comedy isn't as clever or as funny as it thinks it is, and the action sequences aren't particularly exciting. Part of the reason is that "Maverick" feels like a series of skits loosely connected by a simple story. The film needed some serious tightening up at the script and filming stages.The art of making an effective screwball comedy has been lost in time, and try as he might, Richard Donner wasn't able to resurrect it. A screwball comedy relies mainly on timing and energy. Donner isn't able to gather the two requirements of the genre to make it work.All three actors are skilled thespians, and neither of them a strangers to comedy. It's not surprising that Gibson, Garner and particularly Foster are effective, but they could have used a better script. Foster is especially delightful as the mischievous Southern belle (or at least that's what she makes herself out to be). James Coburn is good in a small role as the head of the final poker tournament. Character actor Graham Greene fares the best as the Indian fed up with having to act like the cliché of the Indian for a rich foreigner. That scene has some of the biggest laughs (when it doesn't feel like a sitcom).It's not a complete bust, there are some clever moments here and there, and while gut busting laughs are few, there are plenty of moments that are worth a grin. It is however, a little too convoluted for its own good; the twists eventually become too numerous and tiresome, and they drag the movie on for far too long.If anything, "Maverick" proves that there is a difference between attempting at something, and succeeding at it. It accomplishes the former, but not the latter.