Tetrady not as good as all the hype

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Wyatt There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

drjgardner The most famous lawmaker from the old west is Wyatt Earp (1848 – 1929), largely because he survived and actually went to work for Hollywood in his old age during the silent era, hob knobbing with directors John Ford and Raoul Walsh, and actors William Hart, Tom Mix, and Harry Carey. Some say he even had an influence on a young John Wayne.Earp was first featured in the 1923 "Wild Bill Hickok" and Earp himself worked behind the scenes with his buddy William Hart (who played Hickok). He appeared again in "Frontier Marshall" (1934) and John Ford produced the first notable film about Earp, called "My Darling Clementine" (1946).The "Wyatt Earp" TV series (1955 – 61) gave birth to the 1957 film "Gunfight at OK Corral". John Sturges directed this film and re- visited the era with "Hour of the Gun" (1967). In the 1990s, "Tombstone" (1993) and "Wyatt Earp" (1994) gave us more intense portraits. In Tombstone, we have Kurt Russell (Earp), Val Kilmer (Doc) and Stephen Lang (Ike Clanton) with Sam Elliott and Bill Paxton as the Earp brothers, Powers Boothe as an unredeemable Curly Bill Brocius and Michael Biehn as the deadly Johnny Ringo.Actors who played Earp include Henry Fonda ("My Darling Clementine"), Hugh O'Brien ("Wyatt Earp" TV series), Burt Lancaster ("Gunfight at OK Corral"), James Garner ("Hour of the Gun"), and Kurt Russell ("Tombstone"). For my tastes, the best Earp was Hugh O'Brien on the TV series, followed by Kurt Russell ("Tombstone") whom I think was the more realistic Earp.Actors who played Doc Holiday include Victor Mature who played a wonderful coughing Doc Holiday ("My Darling Clementine") as does Dennis Quaid in this film. Val Kilmer ("Tombstone"), Kirk Douglas ("Gunfight at OK Corral"), Jason Robards ("Hour of the Gun"), and Douglas Fowley ("Wyatt Earp" TV series) also played Doc. Val Kilmer is my favorite Doc Holiday, though I am partial to TV's Douglas Fawley.Old Man Clanton was played savagely by Walter Brennan ("My Darling Clementine") but otherwise rarely shown. For villains, no one was as despicable as Walter Brennan ("My Darling Clementine") although Powers Boothe ("Tombstone") came close and I was also fond of Michael Biehn ("Tombstone").Ike Clanton has been played by Robert Ryan ("Hour of the Gun"), Lyle Bettger ("Gunfight at OK Corral"), and Stephen Lang ("Tombstone")Billy Clanton was played by John Ireland ("My Darling Clementine"), Dennis Hopper ("Gunfight at OK Corral"), and Thomas Haden Church ("Tombstone"). Hopper's cowardly Clanton is the most memorable.The Brothers Earp have been played by Ward Bond and Tim Holt ("My Darling Clementine"), DeForest Kelley and Martin Milner ("Gunfight at OK Corral")Johnny Ringo has only occasionally been featured in films dealing with Wyatt Earp. He appeared in "Gunfight at OK Corral" by John Ireland and in "Tombstone" by Michael Biehn.Curly Bill Brocius has only occasionally been featured, by Jon Voight ("Hour of the Gun") and Powers Boothe in "Tombstone". Boothe is the stand-out.With this as background, how does 1994's "Wyatt Earp" stand up? Pretty poorly. "Wyatt Earp" had Kevin Costner (Earp), Dennis Quaid (Doc), and Jeff Fahey (Ike Clanton) along with a host of women who played the Earp's extended family. We even had Gene Hackman in a cameo as the father. It is a seemingly never-ending tale about Wyatt's entire life, with very little action and almost no character development among the critical players like Ike Clanton, Curly Bill, and Johhny Ringo. As such, it's nearly impossible to understand what is happening. (FWIW – the only film to make an attempt to explain the behind the scenes happenings is "Tombstone").This isn't the worst Wyatt Earp film. That honor goes to "Hour of the Gun". But it is a colossal waste of talent. The only memorable scene is at the very end of the film.

LeonLouisRicci Kevin Costner can Pass as a Movie Star, once in awhile, but Simply does not have the Depth as an Actor to Pull Off this Heavy Study of the Western Icon. Especially when the Script takes Over Three Hours to put On Screen, the Length and Microscopic Details that Focus on the Life of Wyatt Earp ends up Revealing itself as another Kevin Costner Vanity Project.He is a Much Better Fit in "Open Range" (2003) having Grown Out of His Self Aggrandizement and His Film Projects in the Later Years show a Humble Restraint. Lessons Learned.Mediocre and Inconsistent Director Lawrence Kasdan must take Equal Blame for this Elongated, Episodic Epic. It's Not a Bad Film, but Only Slightly Above Average. Because the Better Parts (the Cinematography, and some good B Actors) are Intruded Upon by way too Many side Stories and a Bloated, Wordy Script that Keeps making the same Points, Over and Over.Overall, it's an Obese Film that seems to Never get any Momentum and even when it Manages some Motion, it is Reined In and Slowed Down by rather Boring and Unwelcome Scenes. The Movie Ends a Number of Times and the Train Sequence in one of the Endings is so Mishandled and Unremarkable as to be Anti-Climactic and Nearly Incomprehensible.Worth a Watch for Die-Hard Western Fans, but Others are Not Likely to be Impressed and may have Trouble making it to One of the Endings.

ron flett It's obvious that the writer of this little piece is not old enough to have seen all of the Wyatt Earp movies. It shows when he says something to the effect that Val Kilmer's is the best version of Doc Holliday. The Val Kilmer outing sucks when compared to Kirk Douglas' rendition. Even Victor Mature's Doc Holiday is better than Val Kilmer's. I suggest that the writer see ALL of the Wyatt Earp movies before making such rash and unfounded claims. As far as who made the better Wyatt Earp, again I'll have to go with the older actors. I'd pick Henry Fonda first, Burt Lancaster second, then Kevin Costner, and Kurt Russell in forth place.

powermandan Wyatt Earp is probably the lowest rated epic on this entire site. And why? Just because it is not a masterpiece? I consider Wyatt Earp to be a "near masterpiece"--just need of some more polishing in some areas. Let's face it, Wyatt Earp has no little problems but very few big problems which ultimately cost some fans. I would rather see a movie with no little problems and few big ones than one with many little problems and no big one. One facet that made Wyatt Earp a commercial failure was that is to this day still standing in the shadow of the more successful and better-liked Tombstone from one year prior which also deals with Wyatt Earp. While Tombstone deals with Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday's regiments in Tombstone, Wyatt Earp is a 3 hour and 10 minute biopic of the lawman's entire life. This film was originally intended to be a six hour miniseries. I wonder if it would have been better that way or if it would have just added fuel to the fire.Wyatt Earp is without question Kevin Costner's most underrated performance. He is low-key but on the whole, very accurate to the real Wyatt Earp; even more than Kurt Russell in Tombstone. Dennis Quaid steals every scene he is in as Doc Holliday. Quaid lost 43 pounds for the role and was closer to the real guy than Val Kilmer in Tombstone. The first chunk of the movie explores Earp's upbringing. He wants to be involved with the law and we all know his wish comes true. The casting call for young Wyatt was smart since the kid looked exactly like Kevin Costner at age 15. He grows up and marries a beautiful woman, but her early death takes a toll on him. I was really liking the movie a little while after her death. But as the story delves deeper into Wyatt's journey as a law enforcer, the movie really seems to lose its overall balance. From then on, the pace of the movie is very uneven and the subplots are all scrambled that make most of the movie quite confusing. The unevenness and bad pacing of the movie are the only two big flaws that impact the movie as a whole. Other than the pacing and unevenness, Wyatt Earp is a great western that almost anyone will enjoy.