Featured Audience Ratings

• Jens S

  
  After Kevin Costner's surprise hit "Dances with wolves" Hollywood considered him the king of Westerns. So it does not come as a surprise that him and director Kasdan tried to tackle the story of one of the great legends of that era. Some of the (beautifully filmed)… More
  After Kevin Costner's surprise hit "Dances with wolves" Hollywood considered him the king of Westerns. So it does not come as a surprise that him and director Kasdan tried to tackle the story of one of the great legends of that era. Some of the (beautifully filmed) shots seem to come right out of Costner's own movie. But this film starts out with Earp's youth and takes its time getting to Dodge City, a sheriff star and Doc Holliday. The cast is excellent and full of great names, but Dennis Quaid (who hungered himself down for the Doc role) steals every scene he is in. Sadly, the film is overly long, it would have been a great 2.5 hours movie. As it is, there is still an interesting characterization of a man who became a legend without being a shiny, perfect hero. He is flawed and sometimes even unlikable, much like most of the other characters. But that gives the film a much more realistic feel than most others from the genre. It also helps that James Newton Howard wrote one of the best Western scores ever. If only the film was a tdad shorter.

• Universal D

  
  Kasdan and Costner's version is indeed less B movie than Tombstone, made a year earlier, and is long but still effective once you get past the self-importance. What stands out particularly is how nobility is reached for by less than noble characters, which is as good a way to… More
  Kasdan and Costner's version is indeed less B movie than Tombstone, made a year earlier, and is long but still effective once you get past the self-importance. What stands out particularly is how nobility is reached for by less than noble characters, which is as good a way to recall the West as any.

• Mike S

  
  Pretty good Western, even if it seems to go on forever and bears some great flaws in the script. But first, let me start with what I liked about the film. For as far as the scenery, cinematography and music score goes, this was like delving into a really lush and beautiful painting. I… More
  Pretty good Western, even if it seems to go on forever and bears some great flaws in the script. But first, let me start with what I liked about the film. For as far as the scenery, cinematography and music score goes, this was like delving into a really lush and beautiful painting. I love the atmosphere of the film, whether it's the prairies roamed by great Buffalo herds, or the smokey and vibrant air of the anything-can-happen saloons. But where the eyes are treated royally, the brain regrettably, is not. An example of that is the inconsistencies found in the presentation of our main character, Wyatt Earp. I wanted to sympathize with him, I really did, but when he goes from a goody-two-shoes gentleman to a raging alcoholic who takes out his anger on helpful strangers, I couldn't care less if he bettered himself along the way. It's one of those rare and unfortunate cases when a single scene nearly ruins the entire film. I wasn't very fond of the way Doc Holiday was written either. <i>Tombstone</i> did a much better job with these legends of the West, and made me care about them in way shorter of a running time. All in all though, I quite enjoyed it for what it was. It won't get a place among my all-time favourite Western films, but it was worth the 3 hours I spent within its world. In great need of some editing and a little overly bombastic, though I still thought it was a tad better than the ratings had me expect.

• Conner R

  
  It's not an epic, but it sure wanted to be. Just because you can shoot over three hours of footage doesn't mean you should. I love westerns, but this isn't anything that the genre represents. There's really nothing interesting about the characters, the story or… More
  It's not an epic, but it sure wanted to be. Just because you can shoot over three hours of footage doesn't mean you should. I love westerns, but this isn't anything that the genre represents. There's really nothing interesting about the characters, the story or setting. It also has a cast that doesn't deliver performances up to par with their usual work and a director who isn't exactly known for his consistency. It's forgettable and completely unimportant.

• Dean !

  
  An epic western charting the life of Wyatt Earp. Very long at over 3 hours and the first hour is a bit slow. It has a good cast and production and finally the action towards the end is pretty good. However if you have seen Tombstone the ending is very similar but I felt that was a… More
  An epic western charting the life of Wyatt Earp. Very long at over 3 hours and the first hour is a bit slow. It has a good cast and production and finally the action towards the end is pretty good. However if you have seen Tombstone the ending is very similar but I felt that was a slightly better movie. If you're not keen on westerns go for Tombstone instead.

• Tim S

  
  Fantastic western from Costner, Kasdan and Co.

• Anthony L

  
  I didn?t like it as much as Tombstone. I think, I get them mixed up! :o)

• Al S

  
  An astonishing masterwork by Director, Lawereance Kasdan. A beautiful film in atmosphere and scope. We have returned to the freedom westerns were meant to have. A romantic, thrilling and action-packed epic. Dazzeling and outstanding. Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid are absolutely… More
  An astonishing masterwork by Director, Lawereance Kasdan. A beautiful film in atmosphere and scope. We have returned to the freedom westerns were meant to have. A romantic, thrilling and action-packed epic. Dazzeling and outstanding. Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid are absolutely magnificent. Costner is riveting. Quaid is wickedly funny, deeply effectionate and wonderfully brilliant, one of the best performances of his career. A remarkable, dark, tremendous and outstanding western achivement.

• Jason S

  
  First off, this is a huge cast of folks that brought this movie together. There were so many "name" actors I had trouble keeping track of them all. I thought the pacing of the flick was well done considering the amount of story they had to cover. There were so many… More
  First off, this is a huge cast of folks that brought this movie together. There were so many "name" actors I had trouble keeping track of them all. I thought the pacing of the flick was well done considering the amount of story they had to cover. There were so many important characters that needed to be integrated into the main story that it took some doing to involve them all on a level where you cared if they lived or died. Costner did a good job with the character given that after his life falls apart he becomes an unlikeable guy. All in all I thought it was a good weekend movie to watch when you really had nothing else to do which is why I viewed this movie. Now I have to go rent Tombstone and see that for comparison.

• xGary X

  
  Kevin Costner once again projects his own self-image of the all-American hero, this time portraying legendary frontier marshal Wyatt Earp. And as usual, it's too self-important and FAR too bloody long. The first hour is especially tiresome, as the young Wyatt's life is a… More
  Kevin Costner once again projects his own self-image of the all-American hero, this time portraying legendary frontier marshal Wyatt Earp. And as usual, it's too self-important and FAR too bloody long. The first hour is especially tiresome, as the young Wyatt's life is a dreary combination of sentimentality and melodrama but things do pick up once his father bails him out of jail. Even then however, the underused supporting cast seem far more interesting than the stone faced and characterless Costner; even the plum role of Doc Holliday (played by Dennis Quaid who is clearly enjoying himself) feels little more weighty than a cameo. The aspect of male bonding does work well though, making it all the more obvious that the relationships between the Earps and their other halves rarely exceeds the level of soap opera; Costner's relationship with his second wife is marked by some particularly cornball dialogue. The main drawback for this project is the fact that this story has been told so often that it would take something truly spectacular to make it worth it, and not only is this not the best version, it's not even in the top 3; it lacks the elegance of My Darling Clementine, the grittiness of Tombstone and the good natured humour of Gunfight At The OK Corral, making it a decent but unremarkable addition to the genre.

• Stephen M

  
  For a decade or so, from the late-'80s to late-'90s, cardboard Kev Costner was Hollywood's everyman of choice, before a series of increasingly elephantine projects associated him in the public consciousness with an aching backside and a struggle to stay awake, allowing… More
  For a decade or so, from the late-'80s to late-'90s, cardboard Kev Costner was Hollywood's everyman of choice, before a series of increasingly elephantine projects associated him in the public consciousness with an aching backside and a struggle to stay awake, allowing Tom Hanks to usurp his throne. "Wyatt Earp" is a marvellous film with a majestic sweep, but it marked the beginning of the end of Costner's popularity and, before long, "Waterworld" and "The Postman" would topple him off the A-list for good. What separates this film from the legion of other retellings of Earp's story is, not so much its greater claim to historical accuracy as its portrayal of the typically goody-goody Earp, as a deeply flawed individual whom it was almost impossible to like. There's genuine darkness here but, unfortunately, Costner hasn't quite got the acting ability to nail it. The rest of the cast is great but a skeletal Dennis Quaid walks away with the movie as Doc Holiday, his performance infinitely preferable to Val Kilmer's self-consciously showy turn in "Tombstone", which was an enthusiastic B-movie but nothing more. Excepting some bluish day-for-night that I don't much care for, the film looks terrific, too.

• Lafe F

  
  Lengthy and rich historical telling of the Wyatte Earp legend with Kevin Costner. It's more drama than action. There's not much fun or excitement. The gunfights are grizzly, and so are some of the characters. Solid effort by Kevin Costner; better than that Tombstone-thing.

• danny d

  
  really great portrayal of earp

• Dean M

  
  Masterpiece of a true heroic and famous lawman in the Wild West. Kevin Costner is the best choice as Wyatt Earp than Kurt Russell and Burt Lancaster in the classic Wyatt Earp movies.

• Aaron N

  
  Tombstone is much Better. Foget Costner.

• Cameron J

  
  I thought this was gonna be boring. Almost everyone's been telling me that it's boring, with the exception my father. I don't know if it's because we hang out too much or because this film is just underrated, but eitherway, what we have here is an underappreciated… More
  I thought this was gonna be boring. Almost everyone's been telling me that it's boring, with the exception my father. I don't know if it's because we hang out too much or because this film is just underrated, but eitherway, what we have here is an underappreciated and truly captivating work of art that may have its flaws, but boasts a deal of elements I love in a Western and in a Biopic. Still, I'm a bit upset about this movie being very good after I prepared an awesome review for this if it was boring. Still, I'm more than happy to a genuinely captivating drama. What we have here is the case with "The Green Mile". To me, the gossip that the film is overdrawn and dull rings completely false. Of course, it does still have plenty of flaws to certainly make it not quite as great as "The Green Mile". Though the film as a whole is captivating, it has its slow spots. It also suffers from rushing through segments, weak dialogue and acting by some of the women, (no offense, that's just the cold, hard truth) some cheesiness, an improvable ending and a rather improvable performance from Costner. I also had a problem with the score being overly theatrical early-on. I really like the score and all, even though it's a generic '90s epic score, but it does get upbeat far too much and often gratuitously during the development segment. It makes many transitions between segments bumpy, as there are too many sequences with overly climactic exit music. Wow, am I seriously complaining about exit music? That should tell you about how good this film is if I have to resort to complaining about the music in the first quarter, or at least how badly I want this to be as offbeat as my original, awesome, negative predicted review. Still, through all of its flaws, the film boasts a very interesting and compelling story. I heard someone describe the film as "unexciting" and it is, but not in a bad way. The film is a very detailed study on Earp. It doesn't desire to provoke excitement, but rather captivation and for me and undoubtedly others, it succeeded. This thing does what I love in biopics: providing an interesting, detailed history lesson, but still retain enough cinematic elements to be compelling. The film also features what I love about Westerns: Fine production designs, colorful characters and handsomely-textured cinematography to fully capture the interesting distinctions of the period. Other strengths include sharp sound, some decent dialogue and good gunfight sequences. I also have to mention Dennis Quaid, who shows up late in the film, but still owns it with his snappy charisma and what might be one of the greatest screen potrayals of the legendary Doc Holliday to date. Do you guys think I said "captivating" enough? You know what, let's top it off. In the end, "Wyatt Earp" - in my opinion - boldly defies the rumors that it is a dull, overly detailed drama and instead stands tall as a very underrated, well-crafted, fascinating and generally "captivating" study on the late, great Wyatt Earp.

• Deb S

  
  This is the story about the infamous Wyatt Earp (Kevin Costner) and his early brush with the law after his wife dies and later his career as a lawman in Dodge City Kansas. He meets up and partners with Doc Holliday (a show-stealing Dennis Quaid) who is slowly dying of tuberculosis. (I… More
  This is the story about the infamous Wyatt Earp (Kevin Costner) and his early brush with the law after his wife dies and later his career as a lawman in Dodge City Kansas. He meets up and partners with Doc Holliday (a show-stealing Dennis Quaid) who is slowly dying of tuberculosis. (I think he had the best lines in the movie...too bad they were so few and far between.) The violence takes its toll, however, and when his deputy is murdered, Wyatt relocates to Tombstone, Arizona, where he plans to set up his own business and retire from law enforcement. With fine supporting performances among the huge cast - the aforementioned Quaid, horribly gaunt and convincingly tubercular, Gene Hackman, Bill Pullman, Michael Madsen, Tom Sizemore, Isabella Rosellini as Holiday's mistress Big Nose Kate and Catherine O'Hara - this is a pretty good epic western drama with some top-notch cinematography.

• Andre T

  
  Wyatt Earp is a 1994 American semi-biographical Western film, written by Dan Gordon and Lawrence Kasdan and directed by Kasdan. It stars Kevin Costner in the title role as the legendary and historical american lawman Wyatt Earp, and features an ensemble cast that includes Dennis… More
  Wyatt Earp is a 1994 American semi-biographical Western film, written by Dan Gordon and Lawrence Kasdan and directed by Kasdan. It stars Kevin Costner in the title role as the legendary and historical american lawman Wyatt Earp, and features an ensemble cast that includes Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Mark Harmon, Michael Madsen, Joanna Going, Tom Sizemore, Bill Pullman, JoBeth Williams, Linden Ashby, and Mare Winningham.A little too long, but well made western with great performances, including the best performance of Dennis Quaid, as Doc Holliday, absolute stunning music and cinematography.

• Jim W

  
  Wyatt Earp was released a year after the well made Tombstone, that already told the story of Wyatt Earp with better acting and without being as long. Tombstone didn't cover everything, but it at least covered the exciting parts. Wyatt Earp would have been better if it wasn't… More
  Wyatt Earp was released a year after the well made Tombstone, that already told the story of Wyatt Earp with better acting and without being as long. Tombstone didn't cover everything, but it at least covered the exciting parts. Wyatt Earp would have been better if it wasn't so long. It covers so much, that I'm surprised there's no scenes with Wyatt Earp using the outhouse lol. The performances are ok, but they don't make you forget Tombstone. Dennis Quaid tries hard to be a good Doc Holiday, but he's just not right for the part. He has nothing on Val Kilmer or Kirk Douglas who were better in the role. The under-rated Kevin Costner fairs better as Wyatt Earp. He's believable from the younger days of Wyatt Earp right up until his older days.

• Lee K

  
  not as great as tombstone but i did like dennis quaid as holliday

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