Maverick (1994) ★★½ Quote:
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Maverick is a gambler who would rather con someone than fight them. He needs an additional three thousand dollars in order to enter a Winner Take All poker game that begins in a few days. He tries to win some, tries to collect a few debts, and recover a little loot for the reward. He joins forces with a woman gambler with a marvelous southern accent as the two both try and enter the game.
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With Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, James Garner, Alfred Molina and James Coburn in major roles, this has a great cast. In Richard Donner, it has an accomplished and capable director. William Goldman was one of the finest screenwriters who ever lived.
With all that in mind, I'm not sure why this isn't a better film. It's occasionally funny, intense, and entertaining, but it is probably a film which would be better if it was 15 or so minutes shorter and if Jodie Foster had a stronger and more interesting character.
I haven't seen the TV show on which it's based so don't know how James Garner's Bret Maverick compares to the character played here by Mel Gibson or if the story works better in episode form then as a feature film, but it's something I'm now curious to find out.