Though the story is entirely formulaic, gorgeous Canadian backgrounds and excellent casting give "Crossfire Trail" a formidable presence on the small screen courtesy of cable mainstay TNT. I never could quite picture Tom Selleck in Westerns following his 'Magnum PI' days, but he's entirely convincing here as Rafe Covington, fulfilling a dying wish to a friend who was shanghaied and beaten to death. His arch rival is town boss Bruce Barkow (Mark Harmon), who's effectiveness as a villain requires him to overcome his good looks and fine manners. Maybe that's why he's such a great bad guy, even without a black hat; his nasty turn near the end of the story runs completely against any stereotype you may have of him from his earlier work. But if the devil is in the details, you really have to admire the casting of the supporting players. The part of Joe Gill doesn't look like it would fit Wilford Brimley, but Brimley makes it his as he takes up with Rafe's cause. William Sanderson as the bartender starts out one dimensionally until that fateful stand he takes in defense of Anne Rodney (Virginia Madsen), and wait, didn't Barry Corbin look and sound just great channeling Edgar Buchanan as Sheriff Moncrief?
With lines like "Guess today wasn't my day to die" and "That wasn't shootin', that was killin'", the dialog is a bit clichéd, but doesn't suffer from being over emphasized. That's not the reason to tune in anyway, what you're going for is good old fashioned good versus evil, and there's plenty of that courtesy of Barkow, his toady hoods and hired gun Beau Dorn (Brad Johnson). Dorn looked a bit too sophisticated though for his part, I would have preferred a more seasoned looking villain like John Russell's Stockburn character from "Pale Rider". The final showdown has a bit of "High Noon" going for it with the last bullet fired, fitting since Anne Rodney had to put up with her fair share of abuse.
In fact, watch that gun fight between Beau Dorn and Covington closely. As Rafe stands facing the dying Dorn, he's shot in the front right shoulder by Barkow, but as the camera pulls away, Barkow is clearly standing well in back of Rafe, with Rafe's back to Barkow. That was some exercise in ballistics!
Tom Selleck's performances in Western films seem to be getting better with age, 'Crossfire' compares favorably with 1990's "Quigley Down Under" and is heads and shoulders above 1982's "The Shadow Riders". With any luck, there might be one more good part out there for Selleck as he turns the corner on sixty and heads into the sunset.
With lines like "Guess today wasn't my day to die" and "That wasn't shootin', that was killin'", the dialog is a bit clichéd, but doesn't suffer from being over emphasized. That's not the reason to tune in anyway, what you're going for is good old fashioned good versus evil, and there's plenty of that courtesy of Barkow, his toady hoods and hired gun Beau Dorn (Brad Johnson). Dorn looked a bit too sophisticated though for his part, I would have preferred a more seasoned looking villain like John Russell's Stockburn character from "Pale Rider". The final showdown has a bit of "High Noon" going for it with the last bullet fired, fitting since Anne Rodney had to put up with her fair share of abuse.
In fact, watch that gun fight between Beau Dorn and Covington closely. As Rafe stands facing the dying Dorn, he's shot in the front right shoulder by Barkow, but as the camera pulls away, Barkow is clearly standing well in back of Rafe, with Rafe's back to Barkow. That was some exercise in ballistics!
Tom Selleck's performances in Western films seem to be getting better with age, 'Crossfire' compares favorably with 1990's "Quigley Down Under" and is heads and shoulders above 1982's "The Shadow Riders". With any luck, there might be one more good part out there for Selleck as he turns the corner on sixty and heads into the sunset.