'Ten Wanted Men' is another one of those films that this "aiming to be as generous as possible whenever reviewing" reviewer really wanted to like a lot more. Actually do appreciate the Western genre, something that has been made clear a number of times before in other reviews for other Westerns, and consider Randolph Scott an icon in it. With a cast as good as this, with other names being Richard Boone, Lee Van Cleef and Leo Gordon, this should not have gone wrong really.
Somehow though, 'Ten Wanted Men' did go wrong. And it is really frustrating to irksome effect. With it being annoying that talented actors in the types of roles that they were on paper perfect for and/or had played very well in other films on the whole did not come over well, with two exceptions. 'Ten Wanted Men', despite how all that sounds, is not an awful film. It just isn't particularly good as well, with far too many big flaws (some of them should not have been there in the first place).
Beginning with the good, 'Ten Wanted Men' is well made visually. Particularly the photography, which has many sweeping shots and vivid colours throughout. The music at least fits and doesn't intrude or feel too much.
When it comes to the acting, which on the whole was not good, a sinister Gordon comes off best. Closely followed by Scott, despite having one of his most unlikeable characters he has a gritty charisma and authoritative swagger.
However, the rest do not come over well. Was very disappointed in Boone, this was a role that sounded like it would suit him very well but Boone plays it too over the top and comes over as too much of a cartoon. On the other end of the acting spectrum, Donna Martell is very bland and stagy in a very underwritten role. Alfonso Bodeya, delightful in 'Man in the Saddle', is annoying here and felt out of place, while the waste of Van Cleef as a character that has nothing to him and has too short screen time is pretty unforgivable. The acting in general has too much of a stage origins feel and is not helped by the very slack direction.
A slackness that is present throughout the very pedestrian, often flimsy and cobbled together story, which has no excitement or suspense and the range conflict motivations were just silly. The action is routine at best and clumsy at worst and there is little new or interesting about the characters, that are little more than basic one dimensional genre cliches. The script lacks tautness and has too many instances of humour that jars significantly and is not funny, or even amusing.
Concluding, very lacklustre. 4/10.
Somehow though, 'Ten Wanted Men' did go wrong. And it is really frustrating to irksome effect. With it being annoying that talented actors in the types of roles that they were on paper perfect for and/or had played very well in other films on the whole did not come over well, with two exceptions. 'Ten Wanted Men', despite how all that sounds, is not an awful film. It just isn't particularly good as well, with far too many big flaws (some of them should not have been there in the first place).
Beginning with the good, 'Ten Wanted Men' is well made visually. Particularly the photography, which has many sweeping shots and vivid colours throughout. The music at least fits and doesn't intrude or feel too much.
When it comes to the acting, which on the whole was not good, a sinister Gordon comes off best. Closely followed by Scott, despite having one of his most unlikeable characters he has a gritty charisma and authoritative swagger.
However, the rest do not come over well. Was very disappointed in Boone, this was a role that sounded like it would suit him very well but Boone plays it too over the top and comes over as too much of a cartoon. On the other end of the acting spectrum, Donna Martell is very bland and stagy in a very underwritten role. Alfonso Bodeya, delightful in 'Man in the Saddle', is annoying here and felt out of place, while the waste of Van Cleef as a character that has nothing to him and has too short screen time is pretty unforgivable. The acting in general has too much of a stage origins feel and is not helped by the very slack direction.
A slackness that is present throughout the very pedestrian, often flimsy and cobbled together story, which has no excitement or suspense and the range conflict motivations were just silly. The action is routine at best and clumsy at worst and there is little new or interesting about the characters, that are little more than basic one dimensional genre cliches. The script lacks tautness and has too many instances of humour that jars significantly and is not funny, or even amusing.
Concluding, very lacklustre. 4/10.