Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

2freensel I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Scott LeBrun John Wayne returns to his iconic, Oscar winning character of one eyed, colorful deputy marshal "Rooster" Cogburn in this passable sequel (of sorts) to "True Grit". At the beginning of the story, Rooster is stripped of his authority by a judge (John McIntire). But the judge soon changes his tune, and tasks Rooster to bring an outlaw gang, led by Hawk (Richard Jordan), to justice. Roosters' biggest problem: a spinster named Eula Goodnight (Katharine Hepburn) insists on tagging along, because her minister father (Jon Lormer) was murdered by the Hawk gang and she wants to see that they're properly punished."Rooster Cogburn" is no "True Grit", not by a long shot, with a rather redundant story (by actress Martha Hyer, writing under a pseudonym). It's handsomely shot in widescreen, with some decent action (especially a finale on some river rapids), but it gets awfully bogged down in talk, with too much bickering and bantering between our two leads. Hepburn is wonderful, but her character does get annoying at times. The Duke is quite lively and engaging, and his reactions to her sermonizing ways can be pretty funny. Rooster is definitely an old fashioned kind of guy who's not used to this level of feistiness from a lady.The supporting cast is good. Jordan is unsubtle but amusing as the villain, while Anthony Zerbe has a more interesting role as the scout who rides with him. Other familiar character players like Paul Koslo, Jack Colvin, and Lane Smith turn up. Strother Martin gives the tale a shot in the arm with his appearance as the cantankerous McCoy. And Richard Romancito is appealing as a brave, reliable Indian kid who is the third member of the Cogburn travelling party.Admittedly, it's the star power that is the principal value of this movie. But Wayne and Hepburn set off enough sparks to make this pleasant if not exceptional viewing.Six out of 10.

Bill Slocum In 1975, John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn had one big movie left apiece to make in their long careers. "Rooster Cogburn" wasn't it, yet this manages to showcase both stars in an amiable-enough timekiller.Sometime after the events of "True Grit," our title protagonist (Wayne) loses his badge but gets a chance to get it back when a band of outlaws make off with a wagonload of nitro. En route to sell the explosives, they happen upon a church community, killing the reverend and making an enemy of his crusty Yankee daughter Eula Goodnight (Hepburn).Never mind the serious-sounding set-up: "Rooster Cogburn" is more playful than earnest, last in a long line of cowboy romps starring Wayne. Wonderfully shot by Harry Stradling, Jr. on location in Oregon, the film scores with plenty of banter between Duke and Kate."You have a lot of brass, Marshall," she tells him. "You will have need of it before we are through.""She sings a loud tune!" huffs Cogburn.Watching Hepburn and Wayne work together for the only time is plenty of fun. I'm not a big fan of hers, but as it turns out her big acting style complements his nicely. "Ayah," indeed!Richard Jordan is on hand as the main bad guy, Hawk. He plays his part even bigger than Wayne and Hepburn do theirs, which doesn't seem possible until you see the movie. You wish with his talent Jordan would have made a better impression, but he's saddled with the butt end of this mule train, having to be the heavy in a film where the action scenes play like the afterthoughts they no doubt were.The director, Stuart Millar, apparently annoyed Wayne with his inexperience. He doesn't do much to keep things moving. "I wish this thing had a little more giddyup to it," Cogburn grunts, meaning a raft he and Eula are riding with their Indian companion, Wolf (Richard Romancito) but perhaps referencing the other vehicle they find themselves on.Still, you do get a lot of fun moments along the film's ever-winding way, with Wayne and Hepburn settling in comfortably to their respective corners. Given how disparate their characters are, you expect more in the way of fireworks than you get, but Millar's emphasis on fun seems the right approach.Screen heavy Anthony Zerbe has a good turn as one of Hawk's riders, while Strother Martin shows up late in the film to pleasing effect. Both character parts are underwritten but effective.Martin was in "True Grit," too, playing another role. You get the feeling Wayne is too; Cogburn here is much mellower and a bit too soft for the workout Eula gives him. Still, I enjoy "Rooster" because I enjoy Wayne, and like seeing him having fun late in the game."Being around you pleases me," Rooster says, in one of his mushier moments. Something of the same sentiment applies for me, too.

Brandon Maynard First off, let me say that it was a pleasure to see John Wayne & Katharine Hepburn in the same movie for the only time in their careers. Although, they were too old to play these parts, that doesn't change the fact that any movie they were in was infinitely better simply due to their presence.However, I felt that the plot was generally inferior to True Grit, which the character of Rooster Cogburn in based from. Second, the supporting cast in this film was extremely weak, especially, the villains. And third, the plot was very haphazard, making little to no sense in several parts.With all that being said, this is still a very good movie and one any fan of Wayne or Hepburn should definitely see. My grade would be a B.

arsportsltd John Wayne was one of the fundamental stars of the movies and when one bought a ticket to a John Wayne movie, one was assured of a fine movie! Executive Producer Hal Wallis bought together John Wayne and one of the other great stars of the era Katharine Hepburn for this movie. The film shot in Oregon has wonderful scenic shots. It is wonderful to see the great Hepburn riding a horse and sparring with John Wayne in this film. Katharine Hepburn who in her long career worked with James Stewart, Cary Grant, Peter O'Toole, and her great love Spencer Tracy among others is equal to John Wayne in all matters in this film. And John Wayne loves every minute of it! Producers like Hal Wallis and Stars like John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn do not exist anymore in today's Hollywood! How they are missed!David Barra Los Angeles