I watched this, meaning I yielded to the many promos on the Spanish-language network UniMás. But I think the commercials had shown all of the good parts, because what I was watching was an unpleasant experience. Now, as a "Mystery Science Theater 3000" fan, I rate "Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning" a star higher than most films that were on that show (or on "RiffTrax") because there was some professionalism in the making of the film (despite the fact it's a straight-to-DVD movie). As a kid, I grew up w/ the original TV series on my television although chances are my parents were watching, so I wasn't really a fan. & I had no interest in watching the cinematic remake starring Johnny Knoxville, Sean William Scott, & Jessica Simpson. But this prequel just was too juvenile for my taste. None of the lead actors were recognizable, not even April Scott as Daisy Duke. How ruined was her film career after that? Not even appearances in commercials? I did notice the guy from "Rocketman," the villain from "Happy Gilmore," & Willie Nelson. I assume getting high (or drunk) was no offense during filming; I had to wonder who WASN'T under the influence among the cast & crew. I would guess the actresses; beer or pot might contain a few calories or gluten that would damage their nubile figures & get cut from the movie, even the elderly-by-this-film's-standards Sherilyn Finn. Also, this movie does fit the standards of watching it on TV in Spanish; whatever resembled a plot was a mere excuse for car chases. So in conclusion, "Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning" is trashy for an un-devoted fan like me. For the true Duke fans, this is a real abomination & must be avoided entirely.

I've never watched the original Dukes of Hazzard TV series, so I don't know if the 2005 feature film was inferior to the show, but at least it contained somewhat entertaining car chases and a few chuckle-inducing jokes if not much more. The made-for-TV prequel is basically more of the same with a less famous cast and fewer funny scenes.The story is set in the teenage years of Bo and Luke Duke (Jonathan Bennett and Randy Wayne) and recounts how they first met each other and got involved in the moonshining business in the rural Hazzard County in the southern USA. A local politician Boss Hogg (Christopher McDonald) is blackmailing the boys' uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson) to give up his liquor business but Bo and Luke decide to put an end to such plans, all the while chasing girls and poking fun at the inept sheriff (Harland Williams) in various ways. In addition to the origin of the boys' friendship, we also get to witness the birth of General Lee and the transformation of Daisy Duke (April Scott) from a nerdy wallflower to her famous sexy self.Most of the 2005 film's main cast doesn't return, and sadly the new actors are no match for the old ones. The two stars are quite bland, and Joel Moore as their mechanic friend Cooter is more annoying than funny. Christopher McDonald is alright in his angry role though, even if his performance is inevitably overshadowed by that of Burt Reynolds in the first film. As a refreshing exception, country music legend Willie Nelson does reprise his role as Jesse, delivering by far the funniest lines in the movie. Besides telling amusing jokes and anecdotes, he also gets to play a couple of songs in a party scene.The humour is mostly very clichéd and unimaginative. The cross dressing, toilet humour and female nudity failed to entertain me much as it's obvious that the writers haven't even tried to think of any new ways of presenting the same old gags. The series trademark car chases and jumps are automatically slightly entertaining though. Still, the action scenes and Willie Nelson aren't enough to save the movie from being a dull cash-in entry in a series that doesn't look like it was full of masterpieces in the first place. My expectations were so low that I wasn't really disappointed, but I certainly don't recommend The Beginning for anyone but the biggest fans of the first feature film.

First off those reviewing this like some sort of classic was wrecked... come on. The TV show was face it, never some sort of classic. The story line, dialog and acting was always half rated. The same routine in every episode, same bad slap stick. It was never an original show, it is an good example of another bad 70's show.Second the questioning of language and half naked girls... well it was American TV and that was the only reason you never had more in the show. So it is a teenage romp looking for excuses to make bad sexual jokes and show topless girls. That is all it is No classic was wreck and all this discussion on how the movie should have been made to hold a timeline, as though a piece of history needed to be presented properly... come one! yes I watch it when I was a boy and the fact that it was great entertainment for us as pre or early teens says something about the original... let not try to glorify mediocrity... There were some cutting edge shows in the 70s for the time period and this is hardly one of them. SNL, All in the family, Second city TV, MASH, Monty Python to name a few did something no one else did at the time.So watch this movie if you want bad jokes, stupid dialog and an occasional excuse to see breasts bouncing around. Otherwise just keep moving on

In short - offensive, painful to watch and not even remotely entertaining. As witless as the original Dukes of Hazzard TV series was it was at least wholesome/entertaining/witless fun with mostly talented and likable cast members. No such thing can be said about this direct to video 'prequel' to the TV series. As a person who (sadly on so many levels) remembers and enjoyed the original series I was trying to keep an open mind and hoping for a new spin on the old and 95 minutes of entertaining fluff and car chases with the General Lee. The choice for script material, acting, childish/offensive language, music, sound effects, editing and the actors themselves make the old series seem like Masterpiece Theater by comparison. Christopher McDonald and Harland Williams as Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane respectively will go down in movie history as possibly the two worst replacements for the talented Sorrell Booke and James Best from the series. Rather than good, family fun this movie is another in a long series of horn-dog teenage films with more in common with Porky's or American Pie. Full of crude language and sexual innuendo (even in the rated version) and references, likely only to get an 'R' rating, as a replacement for actual humor or storyline. I won't even comment on the pointless and excruciating to watch cross-dressing scene. Even the sound is poorly done with, in one scene, the exhaust noise from the General Lee coming from the left (hood) side of the screen as it was started for the first time. Don't buy this movie, don't even rent it - go out and buy/rent one of the first 2-3 seasons of the series.