Nicholas Earp (Gene Hackman) is the patriarch of the family. To him, only blood matters and everybody else is just a stranger. The family including Wyatt Earp (Kevin Costner) goes out west after the end of the civil war. Years later, he goes back to Missouri and marries Urilla Sutherland (Annabeth Gish). When she dies, he is depressed and aimlessly roams the country. Eventually it culminates into the legendary gunfight at the OK Corral with Doc Holliday (Dennis Quaid).
Kevin Costner is fine as a younger Wyatt still searching for a direction. He's not so great as the drunken mess. Later he's OK as the lawman. He has the righteousness but not necessarily the gravitas. It's asking a lot to play this wide range for anybody.
The biggest problem is the general long winding life story. This is long, epic, and very long. It's like a biopic from a historian. It is too rambling and unfocused. Director Lawrence Kasdan does a good job filming the movie but this long biopic will always have problems. It's too rambling to create much tension or pick up any pacing. It's just overly ambitious.
Kevin Costner is fine as a younger Wyatt still searching for a direction. He's not so great as the drunken mess. Later he's OK as the lawman. He has the righteousness but not necessarily the gravitas. It's asking a lot to play this wide range for anybody.
The biggest problem is the general long winding life story. This is long, epic, and very long. It's like a biopic from a historian. It is too rambling and unfocused. Director Lawrence Kasdan does a good job filming the movie but this long biopic will always have problems. It's too rambling to create much tension or pick up any pacing. It's just overly ambitious.