Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 11, 1993 TAG: 9312110071
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: C-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Given the impressive credits of the filmmakers - co-writer John Milius is responsible for "Jeremiah Johnson," "The Wind and the Lion" and "Apocalypse Now"; director Walter Hill made "The Long Riders" and "48 HRS." - and their deliberate efforts to correct Hollywood's negative stereotypes of Indians, this could have been a rousing, realistic western.
Perhaps their best intentions did them in. Or perhaps it was the studio decision to produce a watered-down, PG-13 vision of a particularly bloody chapter of American history.
In any case, the story begins late in Geronimo's (Wes Studi) rebellion against the country's westward expansion and the government's policy of forcing Indians onto reservations. By the time young Lt. Britton Davis (Matt Damon), our narrator, arrives on the scene, Geronimo has been fighting for years and is ready to surrender. Davis' first assignment is to accompany Lt. Charles Gatewood (Jason Patric) into Mexico to escort Geronimo and his men back to Gen. George Crook (Gene Hackman).
Of course, this peace agreement doesn't work out _ if it did there wouldn't be a movie _ and before long, Geronimo is waging another guerrilla war. That's where the Army's wily scout Al Sieber (Robert Duvall) comes into play.
Curiously for the genre, the battle scenes are kept to a minimum, and they're handled in an almost perfunctory manner. The filmmakers seem to have been more interested in the long-range political side of the story. That's where the shades of gray disappear, and the conflict is reduced to noble red warrior vs. lying white bureaucrat. It makes for a nicely simplistic story, but there's no dramatic tension to it.
Though most of the decisions are being made behind the scenes by older men, Crook and Gen. Miles (Kevin Tighe), the physical action revolves around Geronimo and Gatewood. In playing the roles, Studi and Patric seem to have taken their cue from Charlton Heston. They stand tall, with good light on their prominent cheekbones and deliver lofty speeches. Studi often speaks in subtitled Apache. Patric's alleged Virginia accent is less convincing.
About every 10 minutes or so, the action stops cold while they and the other men admit their grudging admiration for each other. There are, by the way, no significant women characters in the film.
For no apparent reason, Hill also decided to tint many of the exterior scenes, giving the sky a smoggy, unrealistic, ochre cast. Why he would want to disguise Utah's Monument Valley is a mystery, but it's the least of this boring film's problems.
Hollywood movies aren't history lessons, and they shouldn't try to be. They're meant to be popular entertainments that touch audiences on a visceral, emotional level. "Geronimo" simply doesn't.
Geronimo: An American Legend: *
A Columbia release playing at the Salem Valley 8. 115 min. Rated PG-13 for violence, strong language.
by CNB