Movies to Own: Maverick

I recently watched Lucky You starring Eric Bana, a mediocre movie about a poker player, which made me remember I own a much better movie about playing poker: Maverick. Starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and James Garner, Maverick is a fun-filled movie about a poker player – Bret Maverick – who is trying to round up enough cash to play in a world-renown riverboat poker tournament. The only problem is, everyone around him is also trying to round up the cash to join the tournament, and in the Wild West where this movie is set, you can bet there is a lot of lying, cheating, stealing, and gun-fighting to be had surrounding all that loot.

Bret Maverick himself is a bit of a con artist, which he uses alongside his exceptional poker playing skills to win himself a lot of money and attempt to hang on to enough of it. In the West, it can be difficult to win large sums of cash from rowdy cowboys who'd just as soon shoot you as they would congratulate you on a well-played game. In fact, Maverick finds himself in all sorts of situations where he needs to outwit his opponents away from the game table, lest he be pulverized, shot, or hanged. Mel Gibson puts in a great performance, as you might expect, as a witty con man with a flair for action and adventure.

It isn't just Mel Gibson who turns in an outstanding performance in Maverick, though. Jodie Foster, playing Anabelle Bransford, the Southern Belle with a taste for gambling, and James Garner, playing Marshal Zane Cooper, a law-man of the Wild West, both put their acting skills to the test as well. Both play convincing parts as they follow Maverick across the country, attempting to steal, cheat, and swindle his entry fee from him in their own special ways. The crazy, almost-friendship forged between them as they make their way to the riverboat tournament is a believable and funny example of what can happen when a whole group of con-artists get together for any length of time, with plenty of backstabbing being of-set by plenty of support for each other.

Maverick does a great job at showing off the game of poker without slowing down the movie. Even when the gang sits down to play a round or two at a table, there is plenty of banter and a lot of tension between those involved. There's never a dull moment, especially when Maverick himself is trying to talk himself out of getting shot by a sore loser.

Maverick, in addition to being a poker movie, is also a Western, and fans of the genre should find plenty to see here. Maverick has it all: stage coach chases, Indians, six shooters, hangings, rattlesnakes, and plenty of that catchy piano music from the taverns. It's hard to imagine so much action coming from a movie about playing poker, but the excitement, drama, and comedy are all blended perfectly together in this movie. From a dusty bar to a classy river boat, dusters and chaps to dresses and parasols, there is plenty of diversity without losing focus on the story and the setting.

You don't need to be a poker player or a lover of Westerns to get a kick out of Maverick (I'm neither, by the way). It's a fun, exciting, and unpredictable movie that won't leave a dusty taste in your mouth. This is one movie you'll want to own so you can come back to it time and again.