﻿ Siringo (1995) Brad Johnson, Chad Lowe, Stephen Macht, Keith Szarabajka Movie Review

Siringo (1995)   3/53/53/53/53/5

Chad Lowe and Brad Johnson in Siringo (1995)

Siringo Went Straight Down the Middle

After being suspended for nearly killing Wade Lewis (Stephen Macht) in cold blood for the brutal murder of his Indian friends, half Indian deputy marshal Charlie Siringo (Brad Johnson) gets a visit from Marshal John Llewellyn (Barry Corbin) as Lewis has escaped on the way to Yuma. Put back on active duty Siringo finds himself with Winton Powell (Chad Lowe) a young, inexperienced deputy who doesn't shut up as they try to track down Lewis.

"Siringo" is the sort of movie which I imagine a studio bought as part of a bulk deal knowing that it wasn't anything special but they could utilize if they needed something easy to give some people a job to do. That probably isn't the case but it has that routine nature which makes you feel that those who made this TV movie didn't really care for the story they just used it to fill a quota.

As such for those who enjoy their westerns, and by that I mean have watched a lot, "Siringo" doesn't offer anything out of the ordinary. On one hand we have the chalk n cheese banter of Siringo and Powell as they ride the trail. Once in a while it cuts to the sneering evil doing of Lewis and along the way we meet a former prostitute with a heart of gold. And when it isn't throwing the cliches at you it is throwing the cliche action at you with are heroic Siringo flying through the air to force a bad guy off his horse.

But the thing about "Siringo" is that it was made right in the middle of the 90s and after the mini western renaissance of the late 80s which established that the only westerns which truly worked in the modern age were the epic ones. Well this is anything but epic and instead relies on the actors, their popularity and appeal to keep audiences entertained which is fairness Brad Johnson and Chad Lowe both have even if their characters in this are forgettable.

What this all boils down to is that "Siringo" is a middle of the road western from the middle of the 90s which picks up all the middle cliches which entertain but don't offend and gives us middling characters. For some who like their westerns easy to follow and non challenging it will be enjoyable but for others its reliance on cliches will make it slow going and uninvolvng.