Stick “em up, and stick to the classics!
According to the facts, “Angel and the Badman” was the first movie John Wayne produced back in 1947. I watched it online to set myself up for the Angel Studios remake, and I can promise you: the black and white format is clearer on YouTube than on Tubi. And I was watching it on my MacBook and iPhone.
The 1947 movie was kindhearted movie with Wayne charming us as a man whose cynicism is overpowered by love and faith. The 2026 movie wants to have faith, but gets saddled with sitcom formulas and dialogue. It almost feels like a spoof of that John Wayne movie, especially when words are recycled in a more flimsy manner.
Zachary Levi stars as an outlaw named Quirt Evans, who gets wounded, discovered by the sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones in his first movie role since “The Burial”), and ends up in the home of the Worth family. They consist of the daughter Penny (Meg Fraser), her mother Irene (Jean Louisa Kelly), her kid brother Johnny (Barrett Ellis Luca), and their grandmother Harriet (Melissa Chambers). Penny is the kind who prefers to be referred to as Penelope and doesn’t believe in luck, her mother is the kind who thinks she knows what’s best for her, her brother is the kind who says “Holy smokes!” and complains about getting the water, and the grandmother is the cynical one. Quite the family he crosses with.
He wakes up and helps out the family, starting with their water supply, which has been cut off by a neighbor (John Pyper-Ferguson) of theirs. He convinces the old man to share his water with them, which he soon comes around as a change of heart. After all, he has plenty of water to spare.
Meanwhile, because Quirt took confederate gold and hid it, he’s targeted by the bad guy Laredo (Neal McDonough). And as usual in an Angel Studios release, you get one of those “Scan the QR code” PTAs. It’s helpful for those who can’t afford to go to the movies, but it’s generic the way McDonough says: “Put your phones in the air!” and “Put your money in the digital bag!”
This isn’t the first remake of “Angel and the Badman.” Hallmark produced one with Lou Diamond Phillips as Quirt and Wayne’s grandson Brandon had a cameo. And it also inspired the Harrison Ford movie “Witness” and the made-for-Showtime movie “The Outsider.” I stick to the classics, which had a sense of spirit and sincerity, and never exploited the faith for entertainment values. This new version wants to honor that spirit in its own light, and even having the ending to be like something out of an old film, but it doesn’t really try anything new. A lot of the dialogue is recycled and a twist near the end is too predictable. After all, I did watch the 1947 movie.
Levi is in his 40s like Wayne was in the role, and he still has the charms and make-up to fit the part. But he handles the character in a corny way. Fraser is no Gail Russell as the love interest, who is mostly with dispositions and less sweetness. And out of the stars in this movie, Jones fits the part well as the sheriff. He has the age and voice to fit the part, and it’s a shame it’s a small role for him.
People can change through the light of God, and the 1947 movie established that quite well. There’s just no need to recycle that film, although if it wasn’t for this remake, I wouldn’t have known about that film. So I’m, at least, grateful this gave me a wake-up call on John Wayne and Gail Russell’s movie.
