Jodie Foster Movie:

Editorial Review:
Inspired by the 1960s TV series that starred James Garner in the title role, this lightweight Western from 1994 proved to be a surprising box-office hit. Well, maybe not such a big surprise, since it's from the star and director of the Lethal Weapon movies, and operates with a similar combination of mainstream plotting and easygoing humor. Mel Gibson stars as card-playing gunslinger Brett Maverick, who meets up with wily gambler Annabelle Bransford (Jodie Foster) and a marshal named Zane Cooper (James Garner, trading his old role to Gibson) on his way to the World Series of poker in St. Louis. Maverick's trying to raise the $5,000 needed to join the high-stakes contest, but that's easier said than done due to a lot of unscrupulous competition and a twisting plot of tricks and deceptions. It's all played for laughs and action, so the movie never wears out its welcome, despite a running time that could've used a good trimming. It's also fun to see the rapport between Gibson and Garner, as if the present and former Mavericks were a kind of surrogate son and father, bonded by their mutual skill in charming and conning their way through tight spots. Director Richard Donner also pays tribute to old Westerns by casting veterans of the genre in cameo roles (including Bert Remsen, Dub Taylor, and Denver Pyle), and Gibson's Lethal Weapon costar Danny Glover pops in for a surprise appearance. None of this really adds up to much since the movie makes no pretense about taking itself seriously, but that's precisely why audiences found it so entertaining. --Jeff Shannon

Maverick [Region 2] Reviews:
overrated
2008-09-20 - Obviously my tastes are not mainstream, cause I really didn't like this movie. For the PG rating, I didn't appreciate all the swearing and the slurpy kisses/seduction between Foster and Gibson. IT had its funny moments, the Indian scenes especially, and an amazing cast of cameos. But it was just too Hollywood for me and the language really got in the way for me.

Spectacular
2008-09-17 - Maverick as Western based action comedy is simply excellent. Its starcast also adds to the success of the hollywood blockbuster. The movie is so realistically filmed that it at times doesn't seem like a 90's movie at all. It looks exactly like the movies The Good, the bad and the ugly and Fistfull of Dollars only even better. The animatronic rattle snakes used in the movie look completely realistic and life like. However, there are a few draw backs few of them can be noted. One is the make up for Alfred Molina. He does not look anything like himself. I agree that he is the bad guy but please not that bad. And Jodie Foster's making her escape with the money is completely inappropriate. Now that both of them play theives instead of outwitting each other their characters should team up.

Just Plain Fun!
2008-09-06 - ...this movie is just plain fun. The characters are great and it was wonderful to see all the old actors/singers again who take part in the poker game on the ship. Pop some corn, pull out the blankets, and enjoy.

A Maverick Named Maverick
2008-06-11 - Charming and hazardous card player Bret Maverick makes his way to a big poker championship, with a half million dollar prize up for grabs. And he has competition from the clunning Annabelle Brandsford, who he meets on the way there. Another contender is the sheriff Zane Coburn, frown-faced gun-slinger Angel and others. The catch is that before the championship, everyone has to put up 25 thousand dollars.


"Maverick"--horrible DVD transfer
2008-04-21 - My review is limited to the picture and sound quality of the DVD transfer. The movie itself is fine--great cast, very funny--5 stars for the movie, 0 stars for the DVD quality. The transfer of this film to DVD is one of the worst that I have seen! The picture quality is quite poor, very grainy and almost out of focus. It seems that it was copied from a VHS version of the movie. The movie was made in 1994--it's not that old! This otherwise good movie deserves much better treatmenet than this.