Review of Red River (2011) by Byron B — 28 Nov 2011
The vistas are grand. The cattle and horses are many. Wayne as Dunson and Clift as Garth are great characters that draw you into the story. The writer admitted it was basically Mutiny on the Bounty out west.
Dunson loses his love and becomes obsessed with owning the most land, the most cattle, the most loyal men. He becomes a tyrant who never seems to realize that by pushing men too far they will cease to be willing, loyal followers in an all-consuming trek.
Yet he clutches his weapons always to his side and loses sleep to always be ready in case of an attempt is made to seize his power. The most interesting part of the story was watching how much Garth could take as Dunson's unofficially adopted son and how long it would be before Garth stood up for himself and the crew of cattle drivers.
When will the young man's new direction in life be able to overcome the old man's stubborn demand that things be according to his will? Brennan as Groot plays the same sort of old coot he has played in countless westerns.
Dru, Ireland, Beery, Carey, Carey Jr. and a handful of other faces in the cattle drive team fill in the normal types required to provide a bit of romance, action, humor and believability. The ending bothered me.
It didn't feel as intense as I expected from reading about this movie and it felt like both Dunson and Garth were let off the hook too easily to wrap up with a nice happy reconciliation.
This review of Red River (2011) was written by Byron B on 28 Nov 2011.
Red River has generally received positive reviews.
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