Cast: Wes Studi, Jason Patric, Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman, Matt Damon, Kevin Tighe
Director: Walter Hill
Producers: Walter Hill and Neil Canton
Screenplay: John Milius and Larry Gross
Cinematography: Lloyd Ahern II
Music: Ry Cooder
U.S. Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Geronimo is a "revisionist" retrospective of the United States' so-called "Geronimo Campaign", and the individual and national costs incurred by it. The tale of how 5000 U.S. troops failed to capture a tiny band of renegade Chirachua Apaches forms the framework for most of this movie as it attempts to redress some of the wrongs of the history books.
After I'd seen this movie, someone asked me who the good guys were. I had a hard time answering, and that points out one of Geronimo's fundamental flaws. For the most part, its characterizations are so weak and ambivalent that the audience finds it difficult to develop much sympathy for anyone, regardless of whether they're white or Native American.
Like most Westerns, Geronimo boasts majestic visuals, although cinematographer Lloyd Ahern has a tendency to overuse red and amber filters. Nevertheless, the Utah landscape which formed the backdrop for such John Ford classics as Cheyenne Autumn and Rio Grande is shown in its best light. If nothing else, Geronimo at least has the look of an epic.
Wes Studi, the Cherokee actor who gave an impassioned portrayal of Magua in last year's The Last of the Mohicans, is more subdued as Geronimo. While Studi does his best to bring out the warring nobility and bloodlust within the legendary Apache leader, he is ultimately curtailed by a screenplay that seems interested in two things only: showing battles and giving history lessons.
Jason Patric plays Lt. Charles Gatewood, the officer given charge of arranging Geronimo's surrender. Gatewood is supposed to be torn by duty to his country and sympathy with a people his government is about to betray, but Patric does such a poor job of conveying anything deeper than surface emotions that we lose all interest in his character.
Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall appear to be on hand primarily to get paychecks. Neither does much with his limited screen time. Hackman is General George Crook, a sympathetic officer who is replaced because Geronimo gets away from him. In a somewhat more interesting role, Duvall is Al Sieber, an Apache hunter who admits to a grudging respect for his arch rival Geronimo.
Although Patric's flat performance is a serious distraction, the confused and uneven script ultimately proves to be Geronimo's undoing. The battle scenes are impressively staged, but much of the exposition between them is wearisome. In a time when Westerns are regaining their popularity, there are bound to be a few miscues. While the legend behind Geronimo may be fascinating, this treatment lacks life, energy, and impact. Those expecting another Dances with Wolves had better look elsewhere.
© 1993 James Berardinelli