It must be an unwritten rule somewhere that popular singers must at least once during their career appear in a movie Western. Such disparate personalities as Bobby Darin ("Gunfight in Abilene"), Mick Jagger ("Ned Kelly"), and even David Bowie ("Il Mio West") all appeared in one, mostly with mixed results. With country singers, appearing in a Western seems made to order, as folks like Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson appeared in a fair share of their own.
So I guess it turned out to be Trace Adkins' turn in "Stagecoach: The Texas Jack Story". Quite honestly, he probably should stick with his forte because this flick left much to be desired. It's got the basics down OK, but the delivery is pretty flat and the flashback stuck into the middle of the story disrupts some of the continuity. While watching, I never for a minute believed that Laura Lee (Michelle Harrison) was dead during the shootout at the Reed ranch, even if Frank Bell (Claude Duhamel) had sworn up and down on a stack of Bibles. The whole idea just wasn't presented with a modicum of credibility.
Even the way Texas Jack got his name came across as a dubious proposition. It came about when Nate Reed (Adkins), Frank Bell, and Sid Dalton (Judd Nelson) got wasted on a couple quarts of Apple Jack, and in their drunken daze they came up with the connection between Nate's home state and their choice of rotgut. I guess it could have been worse, they could have been drinking brandy.
And then there was the final showdown. I liked the way Nate/Texas Jack shot the rope that Marshal Calhoun (Kim Coates) rigged to hang Sid Dalton, but then, instead of the two gunmen facing off against each other, it's the banker (John Emmett Tracy) who foreclosed on the Reed farm who came forward to make the save by shooting Calhoun. It almost seemed like a let down since it was Texas Jack's story, not the Ballad of Hank Holliday.
So I guess it turned out to be Trace Adkins' turn in "Stagecoach: The Texas Jack Story". Quite honestly, he probably should stick with his forte because this flick left much to be desired. It's got the basics down OK, but the delivery is pretty flat and the flashback stuck into the middle of the story disrupts some of the continuity. While watching, I never for a minute believed that Laura Lee (Michelle Harrison) was dead during the shootout at the Reed ranch, even if Frank Bell (Claude Duhamel) had sworn up and down on a stack of Bibles. The whole idea just wasn't presented with a modicum of credibility.
Even the way Texas Jack got his name came across as a dubious proposition. It came about when Nate Reed (Adkins), Frank Bell, and Sid Dalton (Judd Nelson) got wasted on a couple quarts of Apple Jack, and in their drunken daze they came up with the connection between Nate's home state and their choice of rotgut. I guess it could have been worse, they could have been drinking brandy.
And then there was the final showdown. I liked the way Nate/Texas Jack shot the rope that Marshal Calhoun (Kim Coates) rigged to hang Sid Dalton, but then, instead of the two gunmen facing off against each other, it's the banker (John Emmett Tracy) who foreclosed on the Reed farm who came forward to make the save by shooting Calhoun. It almost seemed like a let down since it was Texas Jack's story, not the Ballad of Hank Holliday.