Five Grand

Five Grand

Five Grand

I was flipping through channels not expecting to find anything when I came across this Western. 5 Grand the Gunfighter with Eric Roberts as a Marshall. I had a bad hangover and not much patience. I started to turn the channel,but something clicked when I saw the man being chased Jasper Mudd is his name, get the upper hand on the marshall. He put on his badge, stole his identity and off he went. I love, love , love a good story like that where the watcher gets to go with the character on this long winding twisting journey not knowing what's around the next corner or over the next hill. To me that is so exciting. It felt like I was with him. I just love that. I wish I could go back in time to those days, I love westerns. That's why The Good , the Bad and the Ugly is still to this day so wonderful. You get to go with Blondie and Tuco. And this movie does that too. I really like it. I have watched it 3 times. The last 2 times I didn't have a hangover though. 😀

A man wanted for robbery and murder escapes from a Federal Marshal and his adventure ensues. The movie itself is fine, the acting is fine, the gun fights and the Pinkerton man are fine. BUT>>>>>>>> I live in California in the foothills of the Sierra and the change of location is just jarring. One minute in the rocky desert of the Mojave the next in the Blue oak grasslands of the Sierra Foothills then up to Northern California wetter foothills then back to the Blue Oak grasslands and finally into the Mojave again. All mostly on foot and not possible in the time allotted for the plot. The only "location" presented on IMDB is the Calico Ghost town near Barstow. Nothing about the rest. Good movie but I was too familiar with all the location shoots to not be taken out of the story.

Written, directed, and starring the team of Orson Ossman and Tyler Pavey. After shooting a U. S. marshal, a crooked cowboy must stay one step ahead of the law to avoid being caught. Direct from some school of over-acting. And a bad special effects department. After a while, we're not sure who is the criminal and who is the marshal. Very sparse script... a lot of music and sound effects. We hear every sound the marshal hears and makes. Co-stars eric roberts as "the marshal". This one moves pretty slowly. Lots of shooting showdowns. This one is a lot of work to get through. Filmed in yermo. Just outside of barstow california. Showing on tubi streaming channel. S'okay.

A low budget Western that just about holds it together and actually progresses throughout its duration. For good or bad, it seems like it's being made up as it goes along. A rating of 5, might be a bit unfair but the ultra low budget does not do it any favours.

After viewing literally hundreds of movie Westerns and just as many television series episodes, this is the first time I ever came across the hook that this one provided for it's finale. I thought I saw it coming when Jasper Mudd (Orson Ossman) found his dead brothers in a cave, and was confronted by outlaw and third brother Kane (Tyler Graham Pavey). Up till that point, Jasper found himself separated and on the run from a train robbery, gunning down a marshal (Eric Roberts in a don't blink role), finding himself befriended by a rancher's wife (Martha Magruder) who made a fatal mistake, and getting into a confrontation with a different pair of outlaw brothers, who for the sake of argument, I'll call 'dumb' and 'dumber'. The Pinkerton agent (Chris Voss) who makes his presence felt throughout the story eventually catches up with Mudd, but turns victory into defeat when the capable outlaw outwits him in a fatal showdown. Though it took a while to get there, my earlier instinct was verified when Mudd made his way into town to collect the reward money on himself with the corpse of a brother once removed. That was just too cool, and If there's another Western utilizing the same gimmick, I want to know about it.

First the good news. There's more than a little bit of tension and even some excitement in 'Five Grand'. And the scenery shots are good too. The acting, though uneven, isn't bad. But...wow, the outlaws and their trackers have to be the dumbest people ever to be a success at their calling. They let potential killers live, golden moments to escape or capture their prey slip through their fingers and always...and I mean always...make the wrong decision when it comes to saving their own lives. Oh, and there's lots and lot of hard to believe coincidences too. Way too much. I'd add a few spoilers in as examples, but I'm holding back. It's a mess that can only be enjoyed if the viewer simply doesn't apply any logic to any of it.

Great as a period piece, the outfits, the guns, everything looked great and period correct. Let down a bit by the acting, and the writing, saying that, it was a good trip to follow along. The only thing I didn't follow was the leather thing he kept looking through. Maybe I missed it in the beginning for why it was being used (and it became obvious later on when he got to the cave) but nothing seemed to stand out about the two peaks and why he needed some piece of leather to confirm it. It would seem that it would stand out in your mind where you left a whole crate of gold... or maybe a better land mark index.