Destry Rides Again is everything I expect from your stereotypical Western. It is focused on an honest lawman hoping to clean up the corruption in a small town, and doesn't deviate too far from the formula. Unfortunately, because it felt so familiar it was also somewhat boring. The most interesting or exciting aspects of the film are where it avoids cliche by trying something different. I really appreciated the idea of a man who would not seek to create law and order with his gun like so many before him. A more pacifistic approach was intriguing, and I really wish they had found a way to push that all the way through the film. It's fascinating to me when I see a man finding ways to get people that live by the gun to obey the law without using a gun himself. I also appreciated the one scene where he upheld the law even though it offered an advantage to the "bad guys."
Those are the small victories I found in Destry Rides Again. The only other bright spot is the mere fact that they cast James Stewart in the lead role. I find his portrayal of this type of do-gooder to be extremely endearing. It suits him well, and makes what could otherwise be a bland character into someone I enjoy. He also is a somewhat unlikely man to fill the role of tough-as-nails lawman, so it works for the story they're trying to tell. Otherwise, I simply wasn't locked into the plot of this film. I can recall minor scenes, but I wasn't fully drawn into the story. It's the type of movie that I fear I will forget about soon and someone will mention the title in a couple years and I'll find myself struggling to remember if that's a movie I actually watched. I suppose that's better than being memorable for being a terrible film, and it wasn't so boring that I fell asleep or anything. I just wanted more from Destry Rides Again than the film had to offer.
Those are the small victories I found in Destry Rides Again. The only other bright spot is the mere fact that they cast James Stewart in the lead role. I find his portrayal of this type of do-gooder to be extremely endearing. It suits him well, and makes what could otherwise be a bland character into someone I enjoy. He also is a somewhat unlikely man to fill the role of tough-as-nails lawman, so it works for the story they're trying to tell. Otherwise, I simply wasn't locked into the plot of this film. I can recall minor scenes, but I wasn't fully drawn into the story. It's the type of movie that I fear I will forget about soon and someone will mention the title in a couple years and I'll find myself struggling to remember if that's a movie I actually watched. I suppose that's better than being memorable for being a terrible film, and it wasn't so boring that I fell asleep or anything. I just wanted more from Destry Rides Again than the film had to offer.