As an introductory Bass Reeves adventure, kicking off the career of the historical figure and serving up some solid Western gunslinging in the process, I thought this was great. I was actually pleasantly surprised to learn this was a Bass Reeves movie and that it was pretty well-done.
I can't speak to the historicity of it: I only know Bass Reeves' storied career in outline. I *do* know that it's only an introduction of the character and the beginning of his career, though, and that it's clearly conceived as the beginning of a series, so I personally would discount reviews that are damning it for not conveying the full historical breadth of Reeves' character and accomplishments as being irrelevant.
Did Reeves have to fight through prejudice to get his star? I do not know. I *do* know that it feels evocative of the waning era of Reconstruction, that the inclusion of a group of Kansas exodusters is on-point for the time, that the actors do fine work with the material (including the villain), and that all the basic beats of the early stages of the Reeves story are here. If some of it is fictionalized, I'm not too fussed: the fiction hangs together and makes for a fun Western adventure story and we get plenty of excellent gunslinging action.
I was surprised to find all the negative reviews here, honestly. It's a competent Western, not *particularly* spectacular but certainly fun and captivating, and I hope the further entries in the series they clearly envisioned actually happen. If they do, I'll seek them out.
I can't speak to the historicity of it: I only know Bass Reeves' storied career in outline. I *do* know that it's only an introduction of the character and the beginning of his career, though, and that it's clearly conceived as the beginning of a series, so I personally would discount reviews that are damning it for not conveying the full historical breadth of Reeves' character and accomplishments as being irrelevant.
Did Reeves have to fight through prejudice to get his star? I do not know. I *do* know that it feels evocative of the waning era of Reconstruction, that the inclusion of a group of Kansas exodusters is on-point for the time, that the actors do fine work with the material (including the villain), and that all the basic beats of the early stages of the Reeves story are here. If some of it is fictionalized, I'm not too fussed: the fiction hangs together and makes for a fun Western adventure story and we get plenty of excellent gunslinging action.
I was surprised to find all the negative reviews here, honestly. It's a competent Western, not *particularly* spectacular but certainly fun and captivating, and I hope the further entries in the series they clearly envisioned actually happen. If they do, I'll seek them out.