In the nineties, western was somewhat ditched in the landscape of the American cinema in spite of commendable endeavors to renew it like Clint Eastwood's revisionist, dusky "Unforgiven" (1992). "Maverick" hasn't got the pretensions to give the genre a new lease of life but is much fun to watch. It is one of Richard Donner's most palatable efforts in a filmography dominated by action-packed stories like the "Lethal Weapon" saga. It even predates a fashion which was to thrive in the following decade in the Hollywood industry: to adapt a TV series for the silver screen. I must admit that I have never seen an installment of the "Maverick" series.
Action-packed stories are Donner's specialty and he knows his job. There are action and stunts in "Maverick" coupled with twists as one could wish, particularly in the end. They are part of a droll, fantastic story lived by a threesome of delightful actors who are linked through bickering, deceits to collect the necessary amount of money to take part in a poker tournament.
But Donner goes beyond this and rehashes some distinctive elements of the western (Indians, sinister-looking killers, representative scenery like the saloon, the bank or habits like gambling) but gives them a zany inflexion. So, Donner's shooting of Maverick's incredible story never takes itself too seriously and takes often a leap into uproarious laughter. The filmmaker takes pleasure in deceiving the audience about several apparent self-explanatory actions Maverick is about to do. Towards the beginning of the film, he takes his shirt off in front of Annabelle. No, he doesn't want to make love with her but wants her to wash it (the shirt)! Or later when he presses his ear against the ground. No, it's not to hear whether the Indians are very close but "I'm going to have a rest while waiting for the white men dressed as Indians!". Needless to add that Donner has fun with the clichés linked to the western and most notably the Indians and the sinister-looking killers and it helps to produce hilarious sequences (my favorite one is when Maverick is "prisoner" in the tribe of the Indian chief Joseph).
Mel Gibson is one of Donner's favorite actors and here he simply fits in and doesn't go far. He gives a lot of presence to his incorrigible egocentric poker player sometimes unpredictable in his actions. Jodie Foster and James Garner are prime secondary roles who perfectly complete themselves with Gibson.
Certain of the strong points (a cinematographic genre, here the western, for fun, an assumed zany tone, a controlled direction of actors) which make of "Maverick" a prime product will leave the duo Donner/Gibson for their collective effort three years later, "Conspiracy Theory" (1997) which will deal a severe blow to the success of this collaboration.
Action-packed stories are Donner's specialty and he knows his job. There are action and stunts in "Maverick" coupled with twists as one could wish, particularly in the end. They are part of a droll, fantastic story lived by a threesome of delightful actors who are linked through bickering, deceits to collect the necessary amount of money to take part in a poker tournament.
But Donner goes beyond this and rehashes some distinctive elements of the western (Indians, sinister-looking killers, representative scenery like the saloon, the bank or habits like gambling) but gives them a zany inflexion. So, Donner's shooting of Maverick's incredible story never takes itself too seriously and takes often a leap into uproarious laughter. The filmmaker takes pleasure in deceiving the audience about several apparent self-explanatory actions Maverick is about to do. Towards the beginning of the film, he takes his shirt off in front of Annabelle. No, he doesn't want to make love with her but wants her to wash it (the shirt)! Or later when he presses his ear against the ground. No, it's not to hear whether the Indians are very close but "I'm going to have a rest while waiting for the white men dressed as Indians!". Needless to add that Donner has fun with the clichés linked to the western and most notably the Indians and the sinister-looking killers and it helps to produce hilarious sequences (my favorite one is when Maverick is "prisoner" in the tribe of the Indian chief Joseph).
Mel Gibson is one of Donner's favorite actors and here he simply fits in and doesn't go far. He gives a lot of presence to his incorrigible egocentric poker player sometimes unpredictable in his actions. Jodie Foster and James Garner are prime secondary roles who perfectly complete themselves with Gibson.
Certain of the strong points (a cinematographic genre, here the western, for fun, an assumed zany tone, a controlled direction of actors) which make of "Maverick" a prime product will leave the duo Donner/Gibson for their collective effort three years later, "Conspiracy Theory" (1997) which will deal a severe blow to the success of this collaboration.