Its been a long time since I have watched a western and this one, to some extent, did make it worth while watching.

People in a small town are violently forced to sell their ranches at a railroad price as the the on coming railway would go through their land. But the Government sends in their man from Chicago to sort this out in a peaceful manner. And just as things seem to go well, one of the ranch owners is killed in a shootout.

The movie, directed by Craig Baxley, stars Casper Van Dien, Bruce Boxleitner, Ernest Borgnine and Jeff Kober.

As much as I liked this movie and as much as I like to watch westerns, I felt that the script in some areas and that writers along with with the director and the the actors could have done something to make it stronger. Perhaps it was even trying to make some actors be the likes of James Stewart, John Wayne and Clint Eastwood who would have suited more. But never the less it was a good movie and be aware there are some violent scenes that one with a weak heart may not want to watch.

I really like this film better than other westerns because it has a real story that we can relate to in today's world. The acting, cinematography, dialogue, directing and editing all made me feel like I was there experiencing it all. An excellent script with frequent close-ups in so many scenes, not just of the actors, makes this unusual for a Western. A lot of attention is paid to detail, so that with an expression on an actor's face you can see the nuances and what they are feeling and thinking.

The pace of this film lends itself to thinking about what is happening within each character and how they are developing and in some cases changing.

The only reason I rated this as a 9 and not a 10 is due to the amount of violence which takes place. I must say that the entire cast is believable in their roles. Casper Van Dien shows more through his facial expressions than most do. The same could be said about Bruce Boxleitner, but his dialogue also shows the direction of his thinking. I can not leave out the remarkable Ernest Borgnine who plays a strong and determined rancher. An actor new to me is Jack Noseworthy as Mr. Riley who draws a character of some interest as he represents a railroad. William Atherton, whom I've seen many times, played the deceptive banker Charles Howard just right. Not space here to mention each one in detail, but the schoolteacher and young boy are excellent in their characterizations. Jeff Kober as the outlaw without remorse is riveting.

This film brings attention to the Right of Eminent Domain and how the government can take land and homes from people.

But the story also includes how some men tire of taking lives and find there must be some other way of living. "We all have choices...." and "people can change" are the essential messages.

Local railroad boss William Atherton sends hired killers Jeff Kober and Bruce Boxleitner to get rid of pesky landowners like Ernest Borgnine, who refuse to sell out. Complicating things for Atherton is progressive thinking railroad executive Jack Noseworthy and Borgnine's hired hand Casper Van Dien.

A competent cast of familiar character actors try hard, but this is pretty much done in by the extreme familiarity of the material (see Once Upon A Time In The West) and the fact that the script focuses on too many characters at once, resulting in a lot of half-formed characterizations, sort of like a television series highlight reel.

As usual with director Craig R. Baxley, it's well made and the action scenes are expertly handled. However, Baxley (as well as most modern filmmakers) seems to have left out the nuances that made many of the older westerns true classics.

One thing I could never understand about these type of westerns is the railroad's desire to to take the whole ranch in order to lay a single five-foot wide track. Didn't those wackos ever hear of an easement?