Comanche Moon (2008)

**_Twilight of wild-roaming Comanches in Texas_**

This is the prequel to Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove,” with the first two parts taking place in 1858, and the third one jumping to 1865, just after the Civil War. Each episode runs around 90-95 minutes; so, if you watch the entire long movie (aka miniseries), skipping the repetitive credits, you’re looking at about 4h 37m.

I actually prefer this to “Lonesome Dove” because it’s so colorful with outstanding locations and all the characters are well fleshed out. It shows you what it was like to be a Texas Ranger in the 1850s-1860s, as well as the plight of the Comanches, not to mention what other American Indians in the area were doing, like Kickapoo scout Famous Shoes (David Midthunder). Val Kilmer is notable as an eccentric Harvard-educated Bostonian who fought in the Mexican-American War and is married to an oversexed redhead (Rachel Griffiths). He’s taken captive by a Mexican bandit-king (Sal Lopez) and inventively hanged in a cage before being thrown into a snake pit.

For those not in the know, the character of protagonist Gus McCrae (Steve Zahn) was loosely based on Oliver Loving while Woodrow Call (Karl Urban) was inspired by his pardner Charles Goodnight. They were Texas Rangers and trailblazing cattlemen who created the Goodnight-Loving Trail, which ran from central and west Texas up through eastern New Mexico and the heart of Colorado before ending near Cheyenne in southeast Wyoming. They supplied beef for military posts and mining communities with Goodnight introducing the chuckwagon for long cattle drives.

As depicted in the final part of “Lonesome Dove,” Goodnight honored his friend’s request to be buried in Texas and so faithfully dragged his body there.

In addition to the highlights noted above, Wes Studi is effective as the Comanche chief Buffalo Hump, along with Adam Beach playing his intimidating son, Blue Duck. Meanwhile Linda Cardellini and Elizabeth Banks are on hand as the women in the lives of the rangers.

If you don’t have time for all three parts, I suggest just seeing the first one as it’s the best of the three and fairly self-contained, except for the Comanches deciding to go on the warpath at the end. I rank the first part with my all-time favorite Westerns. Critics argue that 2-3 of the characters are cartoonish (Inish Scull, Inez and Gus) but just roll with it; it’s part of the film’s charm.

It was shot from March-July 2006 at Cerro Pelon Movie Ranch, which is located south of Sante Fe and northeast of Albuquerque, as well as areas around the Pecos River east of there.

GRADE: A-/B+