Maverick

Based on the television series of the same name, Maverick follows Mel Gibson’s Bret Maverick as he attempts to raise the cash that would allow him to participate in a lucrative poker tournament – with Bret’s ongoing efforts complicated by the presence of a crafty thief (Jodie Foster’s Annabelle Bransford) and an earnest lawman (James Garner’s Zane Cooper). It’s clear immediately that Maverick owes a large portion of its success to Gibson’s engaging, thoroughly charismatic turn as the title character, with the actor’s stellar work initially drawing the viewer into the thinly-plotted proceedings and ensuring that the film remains surprisingly watchable even through its more overtly needless stretches. Filmmaker Richard Donner’s incredibly relaxed approach to the material does become more and more problematic as the movie saunters into its episodic midsection, however, as scripter William Goldman offers up a selection of time-killing interludes – eg Maverick and an Indian buddy (Graham Greene’s Joseph) attempt to con an Archduke (Paul L. Smith) out of some cash – that serve only to wreak havoc on the film’s already-tenuous momentum. By the time the movie arrives at its entertaining (yet, like everything else here, overlong) climactic card game, Maverick has certainly established itself as an easygoing diversion that could’ve (and should’ve) been so much better – although, having said that, it’s impossible not to get a kick out of the anachronistic (but hilarious) Danny Glover cameo.

*** out of ****