We turn the clock back a notch this week with a review of the 1994 classic Maverick. This came out in the era of 90s action flicks so to have a western poker movie was something different. It’s got some weird bits here and there with some extreme exaggerations, but in the end it’s a decent flick. Click to find out more about this film!


Maverick follows the story of Bret Maverick (Mel Gibson), a smooth talking silver-tongued gambler who is trying to con his way into a Winner Takes All poker tournament. Along the way he befriends a few people including the sexy thief Annabelle Bransford (Jodie Foster) and a law abiding Marshal by the name of Zane Cooper (James Garner). Going through his ups and downs and his twists of luck, Bret must find a way to get into the poker tournament and win with his life intact.


The first thing I noticed in this movie is the amount of cameos from other actors. The cameo that I loved the most is from Mel Gibson’s good friend Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon) who plays an unspecified bank robber. It’s funny seeing Mel and Danny see eye to eye and do a triple take on each other. The best part is that Glover spits out his iconic line that he says in every Lethal Weapon movie. Being a western movie it’s only appropriate to have appearances come from famous western actors James Garner and James Coburn. While this may be a bit of bias, but I really love Alfred Molina and I love it when he gets the role of a villain. Molina is cast perfectly as a villain and it’s his evil glare that really does it for me.

The story I found is quite compelling. There are plenty of twists and turns as you’re not quite sure of who’s on whose side. I loved the cocky attitude that Gibson pulls off with Maverick. He is the quintessential lovable jerk because every time you see him scam someone, he’s put back in a situation where he’s needed to come out on top as a hero. Jodie Foster plays her role really well though I thought that near the end of the movie her usefulness to the entire story became needless and boring. Included in the acting mix is legendary Canadian actor Graham Greene who is famous for his work on Royal Canadian Air Farce and The Red Green Show. While some might not agree with his native American character Joseph, the feeling that they were trying to evoke was his comedic and satirical elements rather than a serious role which the end results lead to a very interesting and funny character.


So you’re thinking, this movie is pretty old, is the comedy and story still relevant? I’d say yes. It packs enough humor and clever bits of story to feel unique and fresh even though it’s over a decade old. It balances it’s cheese factor with some high quality acting.