Night At The Movies
Maverick (1994) (Warner Brothers)
Synopsis:
    Bret Maverick is trying to get to the biggest poker game of his life:  the winner gets a half million dollars.  However, he's got to have $25,000 to enter the game, and he's short three thousand.  In going from town to town, he meets a woman who is just as good a thief and liar as she is a poker player, as well as a shifty lawman.  Do you trust your insticts, or can you find out who is bluffing?

Availability:
    VHS:  Widescreen and Pan and Scan
    DVD
Cast/Crew:
Richard Donner             Director
        Lethal Weapon films
        Superman
        The Goonies

Mel Gibson                    Bret Maverick
        Bird on a Wire
        Mad Max films
        Braveheart
        Lethal Weapon Films
        Forever Young
        The Man Without a Face
        Pocahontas

Jodie Foster :
        Contact
        Silence of the Lambs
        Taxi Driver
        The Accused
        Little Man Tate
        Nell
        Sommersby

James Garner :
        Maverick (television)
        The Rockford Files (television)

Alfred Molina :
        The Man Who Knew Too Little

Miscellaneous:
    The film was based on James Garner's Maverick, a television show from the late 60's to early 70's and several made for TV movies.  It is uncanny how close Gibson comes to Garner's original character.
    Danny Glover shows up in a cameo, and references to the Lethal Weapon films are made as he and Gibson interact.

MPAA Rating:
    PG some language, adult situations

My Rating:
    I honestly did not think I would enjoy this film when I first saw it.  I am not a huge fan of westerns, and this looked like just another poker game.  I was wrong, though.  This is one of the best films I have seen.  Gibson totally convinces you of the ability of his character, the humor is at the top of its form, and there are more than enough surprises to keep the film interesting and surprising.
****
J-R                            Night at the Movies 1