Maverick

Whilst about to be lynched by the villainous Angel (our very own Alfred Molina), Bret Maverick (Gibson) recalls the events leading up to this less than ideal situation...

Maverick is an inveterate gambler and needs $25,000 to enter the Three Rivers Poker Championship. On the way to getting this money he meets a young prostitute, Annabelle (Foster) with whom he quickly enters into a love-hate relationship. She tries to steal his cash, Angel's gang try to steal his cash, Maverick makes believe that a gang of Red Indians want to steal everyone's cash in a hilarious sub-plot where Graham Green (Dances With Wolves) steals the show, and eventually, Maverick having outwitted all the rascals, all the goodies and the baddies meet up at the Poker game.

This film was one of the most entertaining of the Summer - a Western in the traditional style with lots of laughs, threatening baddies, a hunky hero (Woof! - Ed.) and a feisty and beautiful heroine (Schwing - Alex). The Lethal Weapon team of Donner and Gibson make a welcome return to entertainment, after Gibson's more serious roles in Hamlet and Man Without A Face. A script by William Goldman, the writer of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, excellent performances from Gibson and (particularly) Foster plus a cameo from the original TV Maverick, James Garner, ensures much laughter.

Nicci MacKenzie.