1883. Montana, Wyoming, Dakotas.Christian Slater stars as "Cincinnati" John Mason, a man wanted for murder in Missouri. Donald Sutherland plays a marshal hunting him down. Meanwhile, there is a group of hooded bandits robbing stage coaches and the mail. We, the audience, know the identity of the bandits, while John tries to figure it out because they shot and killed his father. John has a love interest in Alice (Jill Hennessy) and whiskey.The movie is supposed to be a remake of the 1935 John Wayne film, which somehow I missed. I found Slater to lack the charisma and toughness to play a cowboy. While not terrible, he was unconvincing. The soundtrack was cowboy cliche with all the bells and whistles (literally) that we have come to watch in modern spoofs. The movie has slow moving sequences of long drawn out dialouge with frequent pauses for the characters to take a long breath or a swig of whiskey. Once the film gets about half way through it picks up and even had some decent scenes.If you looking for a western to download off Amazon, this one beats out "Hells Fury" and "Hell at my Heels" by a long shot.F-bomb, no sex, no nudity. Two adults in bed after sex.

When I saw the cast I thought I was going to be in for a good western even though the score was pretty low on IMDd. But in the past I saw movies that I liked that ranked low here so I thought I give it a try. Well this time the IMDb ranking was spot on. This western is not really worth watching unless you are bored and have absolutely nothing else to do. If the budget was 5 million it for sure went just to the actors because they didn't spend much on anything else. Another western where there are only like 10 people living in a town. Could you really not afford some extras as bystanders? The plot was also very predictable, what made it quite dull. I was glad when the movie ended and won't watch it again.

Using most of the character names as was used in the original Tom Tyler film (Monogram) and the remakes starring John Wayne (Lone Star-Monogram) and Bob Baker (Uinversal), it would appear that such an outright theft should have also been noted when the writing credits appear on this film...but try as I may I fail to find one line on any frame of this film that mention this film was base on an original story and screenplay by Wellyn Totman, and also on subsequent screenplays by Robert N. Bradbury and George Waggner. Evidently, the use of previously-written copyrighted material, without crediting any of the original story or screenplay writers is no problem in Canada. A simple based-upon-by nod would have been honest, at least.

Hollywood has all but forsaken westerns. Typically, the sagebrushers that are produced turn out lame. "Recoil" director Terry Miles and "Knockout" scenarists Eric Jacobs and Joseph Nasser prove the exception to the rule with their above-average remake of the vintage John Wayne B-movie western "The Dawn Rider." The Wayne oater was a remake of director Lloyd Nosler's oater "Galloping Thru" (1931) with Tom Tyler. As it turns out, "Dawn Rider" is the second time that "The Dawn Rider" has been remade; director George Waggner's "Western Trails" (1938) preceded it as the first remake of "The Dawn Rider." In their remake, Miles and his scribes have opened up the action considerably and supplemented the narrative with greater depth as well as length. The original ran a scant 53 minutes compared with the second remake at 94 minutes. Mind you, Christian Slater couldn't fill John Wayne's boots, but he makes a credible western hero in his own right. Donald Sutherland co-stars as a heavily-bearded, bulletproof lawman on our protagonist's trail. No lawman pursued Wayne in director Ray N. Bradbury's 1935 original. Indeed, the Sutherland character recalls the sheriff that Harry Carey, Sr., portrayed in a later Wayne horse opera "Angel and the Badman." According to Miles, he appropriated the indefatigable lawman figure from another of his own screenplays. Lochlyn Munro makes a good villain, while Jill Hennessy emerges as our hero's romantic partner. She isn't relegated to the periphery. She brandishes a revolver and holds her own against the guys. The production values are sturdy, and the cast looks seasoned as well as believable. Miles stages the shoot-outs with reasonable flair, but this oater doesn't break any ground, except casting Slater as a western hero. The villain resorts to a life of crime to pay off a bill involving ownership of a ranch. The hardware appears authentic enough, with cap and ball pistols sometimes substituting for cartridge carrying sidearms. Although it won't win any Oscars, "Dawn Rider" ranks as one of the better westerns to trot across the screen."Dawn Rider" opens as John Mason (Christian Slater of "True Romance") urinates in the woods and then checks the cherry tomatoes in his garden. Mason marks an X through October 13 on a calendar. He has been holed up in the cabin for over three months. Later, U.S. Marshal Cochrane (Donald Sutherland of "M.A.S.H.") and two trigger-happy gunmen ride up and cut loose with a barrage of rifle-fire. Cochrane reprimands them for shooting indiscriminately into the cabin. He stands to lose a $500 bonus if he doesn't bring Mason in alive. When they storm the cabin, these fellows hear an explosion, and trapdoor in the floor shudders as Mason makes his escape through a tunnel without injury. Meantime, in Sarsaparilla, Wyoming, a gang of outlaws wearing flour sacks as masks shoot it out in broad daylight, kill a marshal, and steal a bag that contains only mail but no money. Rudd Gordon (Lochlyn Munro of "Recoil") is desperate to round up $5000 to pay the debt on the ranch he owes to the Standard Rail Company. Rudd's sister Alice (Jill Hennessy of "Wild Hogs") lives with him. Mind you, Alice has no idea that her brother is a desperado.Miles and his scenarists have changed quite a bit from the John Wayne version of "Dawn Rider." Not only does Mason have a reputation as a gunslinger from Cincinnati, but he has also spent time in a Mexican prison. The John Wayne protagonist in the 1935 version was lily-white pure. Miles' remake preserves the plot device involving McClure's ring, but adds the complication that drives Rudd to crime to pay off his debt. Alice and Mason are old friends, too, unlike the couple in the Wayne original. She sleeps with a revolver stashed under her pillow. This plot device is introduced right after she nurses Mason and paid off later when one of Rudd's gunman tries to rape her. "Dawn Rider" benefits from fresh scenery, enough shoot-outs, and a twist at the end involving the shooting of Cochrane.