Given Rio Lobo's creative team and certain plot elements, the film will always be compared to the excellent Rio Bravo and my favorite John Wayne film, El Dorado. Sadly Rio Lobo doesn't hold a candle to either movie.
First the good. John Wayne is always enjoyable, even in movies I don't like. The Duke does the best he can with the writing here and there are some genuinely funny moments throughout. Jack Elam's character was fun when he finally arrived later in the picture. A few of the background actors were also good with their limited screen time. The sets, especially the western towns, brought a familiar feeling and life to the world. And the soundtrack also increased the immersion.
Now the bad. The acting by several of the main characters was poor, even cringe worthy at times. Jorge Rivero and Jennifer O'Neill were especially hard to watch. Maybe these are good actors with a bad script, or maybe both are true. Overall I found myself wanting to skip over scenes and couldn't believe what I was watching. I expected more.
The plot is a good one but there were some elements that bothered me. The villains in this movie are former Union soldiers but they were never on screen during the war. There was no connection to them or their treachery outside of John Wayne's desire to catch them. Ketchum also wasn't much of a villain, more of a coward. The romance elements felt rushed and boring, perhaps due to the poor acting and/or writing. There were some good comedic moments, mostly by Wayne and Elam, but others that fell flat.
I kept watching and hoping the movie would get better, which it did in some ways, but felt disappointed in the end. Maybe I expected too much from Rio Lobo. Maybe I'll give it another try down the road and change my tune.
First the good. John Wayne is always enjoyable, even in movies I don't like. The Duke does the best he can with the writing here and there are some genuinely funny moments throughout. Jack Elam's character was fun when he finally arrived later in the picture. A few of the background actors were also good with their limited screen time. The sets, especially the western towns, brought a familiar feeling and life to the world. And the soundtrack also increased the immersion.
Now the bad. The acting by several of the main characters was poor, even cringe worthy at times. Jorge Rivero and Jennifer O'Neill were especially hard to watch. Maybe these are good actors with a bad script, or maybe both are true. Overall I found myself wanting to skip over scenes and couldn't believe what I was watching. I expected more.
The plot is a good one but there were some elements that bothered me. The villains in this movie are former Union soldiers but they were never on screen during the war. There was no connection to them or their treachery outside of John Wayne's desire to catch them. Ketchum also wasn't much of a villain, more of a coward. The romance elements felt rushed and boring, perhaps due to the poor acting and/or writing. There were some good comedic moments, mostly by Wayne and Elam, but others that fell flat.
I kept watching and hoping the movie would get better, which it did in some ways, but felt disappointed in the end. Maybe I expected too much from Rio Lobo. Maybe I'll give it another try down the road and change my tune.