Jefferson Davis 'Boss' Hogg (Burt Reynolds) intends to make a fortune by strip-mining Hazzard Count for its coal, but when moonshiners Bo and Luke Duke (Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxville) get wind of his nefarious plan, they decide to throw a spanner in the works, with a little help from Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson), cousin Daisy (Jessica Simpson), and Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter).I was never really a fan of the TV series of The Dukes of Hazzard, despite hailing from the South (of England, that is), so I'm not going to complain about this big screen adaptation crapping all over my childhood memories. I am, however, going to complain that the film lacks charm, a decent plot, memorable performances and any real sense of fun, director Jay Chandrasekhar merely going through the motions, delivering what he expects fans want to see, but doing so with seemingly little love, imagination or enthusiasm.Knoxville and Scott might get top billing as good ol' boys Bo and Luke, moonshine runners and general troublemakers of Hazzard County, but the real stars of the film are General Lee, their muscle car, which is involved in numerous silly chase scenes in which the vehicle continues to function despite preposterous chassis knackering jumps and crashes, and Jessica Simpson as delectable Daisy Duke, whose bodywork is absolutely stunning and who, I imagine, handles like a dream.

There is room for improvement in this movie; don't read the one star reviews who are angry because its not the original TV show and have convinced themselves that Daisy Duke was never sexualized in the original and Bo and Luke were never chasing pussy. Because she was and they were. In this new flick the Duke family is still fighting the system. Bo Duke is made out to be clueless about the world. I didn't particularly like Burt Reynolds as a thin Boss Hogg. Rosco is a huge dude and Willie Nelson is OK. Jessica Simpson's performance is good in spite of all the hate for her being cast as Daisy. The bottom line is it's a decent flick worth a watch for fans who don't mind the generational gap.

Not too sure where I stand with this update of the classic kids show. This is one of those times where making a film for the younger audience is probably the best option yet they went the other way.The main problem here is the fact that The Dukes of Hazzard was a TV show primarily for kids. It was light-hearted and had the same kind of theme as other classic TV shows like The A-Team, Knight Rider and Airwolf. This new film takes that kind-hearted approach and throws it out of the window to make room for a new crude, vulgar version with tits and ass.I will admit that at times the film is good fun, the massive car chase sequence at the end is a tornado of great stunts that is tremendous fun to watch. Much like the classic car chases in 'The Blues Brothers' its amazing to see the famous Dodge Charger hurtle down the freeway and leap higher and farther than ever before. Unfortunately this is about as fun as it gets for both thrills and whimsical retro goodness.The rest of the film really is a nasty cheap-ass pile of stereotypical clichés in a bad straight to DVD National Lampoon's kinda way. The main casting of Knoxville and Scott as Bo and Luke was terrible and gave the game away immediately as to what direction the film was going in. Even Simpson as Daisy was a bad choice, your everyday boring over-tanned blonde Barbie doll wannabe with luminously bleached teeth. Yes she was sexy in her tight Levi cutoffs and lets be honest this character ain't here for intellectual conversation, but she was also vacuous with no character whatsoever. The bad casting continued with Reynolds as Boss Hogg who had no presence in the film at all. Just a big name for the advertising and a very weak performance.Overall its a very mixed bag as there is some nice car porn in here but quite simply its a very bad adaptation of the TV show. Seeing the old General Lee zoom around is the most enjoyment you're gonna get outta this...if you grew up with the show that is (or you're a petrolhead).Shame they also had to drag the modern day PC bandwagon into the fray. They just had to include present day politics didn't they, couldn't let that go, exactly why this should not have been set in the present day. Not to be taken too seriously of course but you know deep down the original TV show is slightly frowned upon these days *groan*.Unfortunately this is a rather sour spin on the TV show and spoils its good name. Chock full of needless cameos, way too glossy, hints at soft porn, crass and with added toilet humour. Basically its 'American Pie' and 'Jackass' injected into a much loved old TV show which is totally unacceptable frankly.This is exactly what Stiller and co didn't do for their classic TV show adaptation and look at the difference in quality. Don't show this to your kids and avoid yourself.2/10

For all of the pans and low ratings, "The Dukes of Hazzard" turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Granted, if I were a "Dukes" purist (I'm not), then I'd be pretty miffed at the changes that were made for this movie. And it's not without its problems. For one, the characters of Boss Hogg and Roscoe P. Coltrane are all wrong. Second, the occasional comments on the General Lee in modern society get old. But they did pretty well on the casting front; two likable Duke boys, David Koechner's a good Cooter, and Willie Nelson makes for a novel Uncle Jessie. Plus, there's a rock-solid soundtrack for the car chases. The Broken Lizard cameos were pretty cool. And thankfully, they didn't feel the need to change or update the General (thank god for that). There are smarter ways to spend your time, but that's just it: the TV show wasn't all that smart to begin with ... but it was fun. And I think the filmmakers got that. And speaking for myself, I'm here for the car. Always have been. And there's no shortage of bridge jumps, chase scenes or other General Lee mayhem, so they've got my vote. That is one bitchin' ride.7/10