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TEXAS RANGERS Send This Review to a Friend
Bang bang. Gallop Gallop. "Texas Rangers" is the sort of western I used to see as a kid at the movies on Saturday mornings. It isn't awful but it isn't much good either. Just functional.
The scene is the border area between Texas and Mexico after the Civil War and a vicious gang led by one John King Fisher (Alfred Molina) is raiding towns and ranches, slaughtering people and stealing cattle to be taken to Mexico and sold there for hefty profits. Who can stop these bad guys?
Enter Leander McNelly, a real-life character who was tapped to head the newly-formed Texas Rangers committed to keeping law and order. The screen McNelly is played by Dylan McDermott, who doesn't make a particularly charismatic western hero. He's a bit too low-key for that. But he's a television name by virtue of his role in "The Practice." McNelly recruits a motley crew of Rangers to practice shooting and ride against the outlaws. When there are a slew of losses in one battle, he recruits more.
McNelly doesn't have a lot of time to accomplish his task. He's fatally ill. Apart from the assorted cast members who sling the guns, there is also Leonor Varela as Perdita, the problem woman, and Rachel Leigh Cook as Caroline, a sweet, perceptive young thing who utters inanities. The action under Steve Miner's direction is handled well enough, but the film is strictly run-of-the-mill. A Dimension Films release.
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