A pair of former Texas Rangers, Gus McCrae (Robert Duval) and Woodrow F. Call (Tommy Lee Jones) decide to leave their home in Texas and head north to raise cattle in Montana. Woodrow is intent on being the first to raise cattle in Montana, while Gus is a bit more laid back and simply seems to be along for the ride.
One gets a very good duo of actors with Duval and Jones, and they both play with each other quite well. You also get a pretty good supporting cast, the likes of Danny Glover, Robert Urich, and a very young Rick Schroeder. So, with all of them you really have no complaints on the acting side of things.
Much of the story is typical western stuff. Heroic Texas Rangers that seem to be able to stand up to anything and anyone that crosses their path, be it dust storms, bandits, Indians, and 2500 miles of rough terrain. Aside from Gus and Woodrow, you have the stories of a handful of others that intertwine with that of the retired lawmen. Some parts of this seemed unnecessary and really didn’t do much for the overall story, which is really about Gus for the most part. Some of these little side treks kind of took one out of the moment, like you were listening to a good story and someone else butts in to tell a similar story that doesn’t really have anything to do with the original one.
While the story was obviously too big for a single movie, it seems stretched out to fill up a full mini-series. Good acting and a moderately decent story gave me an enjoyable break, though I did find myself zoning out at certain parts, 3 Axes, I’d maybe go a little higher if Tommy Lee Jones didn’t look so much like Kenny Rogers in this.