I am very impressed with the acting in Comanche Moon. Before I started watching this, I wasn't expecting it to be as good as Lonesome Dove. I couldn't believe how well the actors were chosen to represent all the characters. It blew my mind how well they played each role! This was in my opinion almost as good as Lonesome Dove. Its hard to compare any film to Lonesome Dove. If you don't make that comparison, I would give this a thumbs up. It was very entertaining! I don't post many comments on this site, but I just felt I had to get my opinion out there. Amazing! I don't want to go off naming every actor who was brilliant, because I would probably have to list every single one. My favorite was Steve Zahn. He hit the nail on the head playing Captain Gus. His mannerisms were perfect.

"Comanche Moon" had everything going for it. For starters, Simon Wincer's back, a man who's name is synonymous with high-quality TV westerns. Unfortunately, the problems with "Moon" are something even the most talented director couldn't solve: A poor script based on a lackluster novel.Forget historical accuracies -- as any reader of the novels can tell you, the biggest travesty in "Moon" is that it's not even consistent with information from the original "Lonesome Dove" masterpiece. So many wonderful, rich moments in the miniseries and, to an even greater degree, the book, are completely missing in "Moon." Considering the fact that most viewers of "Moon" are probably coming with at least some sort of "Dove" background, the lack of character-driven and emotional backstory is downright painful. That said, "Moon" is one instance where the adapted version could and should have been altered to make it more suitable for the screen. For example, the novel "Moon" focuses largely on the Comanches themselves. To its credit, the miniseries tries to service the Comanches, but in the end it gives them just enough that the viewer just gets a sense they're missing out on some important part of the story. Similarly, Val Kilmer's Scull loses out here too -- the role should have either been expanded so Kilmer (and Rachel Griffiths, for that matter) actually had something to do, or the roles should have just been reduced to smaller, supporting parts. Instead, Kilmer gets top billing for a character that just leaves you scratching your head after his appearance in the completely bizarre final act. There's strange moments throughout the film that just make no sense to those who haven't read the book (a killer parrot? what?) -- further, there isn't a single scene that shows us that Call and McCrae are anything near the amazing Texas rangers they claim to be. Not a single one of their expeditions in Moon (or "Dead Man's Walk," for that matter) ends successfully, and Call and McCrae just seem to blunder their way through one pointless mission after another.Frankly, Larry McMurtry should never have been given the job of writing the script, and only did so because of the praise surrounding that other cowboy movie, Brokeback Mountain. McMurtry can write good novels (although there's some dissension over the consistency of that statement), but he's never exactly established himself as a scriptwriter. This production would have benefited from not only bringing back director Wincer, but original screenwriter Bill Wittcliff to adapt the novel to screen. Witcliff doesn't exactly have a mountainload of material to his screen writing credit, but no one can deny he did a fantastic job at whittling down the original "Lonesome Dove." With all this said, "Comanche Moon" is almost a brilliant production, aided by a terrific cast that unfortunately just aren't given enough to do. Steve Zahn's portrayal of Gus McCrae -- or rather, his portrayal of Robert Duvall as Gus McCrae -- is dead-on. And while some have criticized Karl Urban as Woodrow Call, saying his performance doesn't imitate the quiet, stoic Woodrow of the original movie, all I can say is: blame McMurtry, because McMurtry is the one who -- both in the "Moon" novel and now the miniseries -- turned Woodrow from socially inept, awkward, but natural leader, into some emotionless character whose lines are just dull and whose character motivations are only clear if you've seen them portrayed far more adequately in the "sequel".Still, it's the cast that sparkles in "Moon," to the degree that I left the miniseries with that same feeling of melancholy I felt watching the original "Lonesome Dove" -- this time because I realized it's probably the last time we'll see these characters appear on screen for a long, long time to come -- and quite honestly, this cast could have done so well in a well-nurtured, full-blown network TV series.All in all, aside from wasted opportunities with the cast, the biggest travesty is that the original Lonesome Dove novel contained so much rich backstory for the characters that would have been fascinating, utterly fascinating, to see translated on screen. Unfortunately, all that has been tossed aside in favor of McMurtry's tedious, inconsistent and ultimately irrelevant, prequel.

I can't believe how many bad reviews I've read about Comanche Moon. Don't listen to any of them. At first, I was very worried that Steve Zahn wasn't going to be able to meet my expectations for a young Gus, but I was absolutely amazed!! He was fantastic and I am so glad they picked him to play Gus's part. I wasn't super impressed with Karl Urban's performance, but it was still much better than I expected. Val Kilmer's character was very enjoyable to watch. He pulled off a very original and humorous performance. I also thought that the young fellow playing 7 year-old Newt did a great job. I've got a feeling we'll see him in many more movies.In my opinion, Lonesome Dove will always be the pinnacle of all westerns. Comanche Moon was a very worthy prequel and, although not required to understand Lonesome Dove, was very enjoyable. I can't wait for it to come out on DVD!!

Comanche Moon takes us Ten years into the future Call and Gus are now approching middle age and Rangering is all they have known both men have two women waiting for them for Gus it's the love of his life Clara for Call it's a young whore named Maggie Tilton who is in love with Call both women want their men to give up Rangering but it's in their blood. Gus and Call are made Captains and their responsbilties increase. This puts a hardship on Gus and Clara's relationship as she wants him to give it up. For Call it's duty above else even above a woman who loves him. This tale could be called Bittersweet a love letter to a bygone age. Steve Zahn however amazed me he actually Channels Robert Duvall you can even see Duvall in Zahn's performance he acts like him so much it's uncanny. Karl Urban is easily one of the best Woodrow Call's ever portrayed his performance stands up to Tommy Lee Jones portrayal and maybe actually even betters it. What makes this movie so outstanding is the level of respect that comes across it's well down and is respectful to the book from which it is based on. Val Kilmer is excellent as Captain Scull making again a argument that he is simply one of the best in Hollywood today. Highly recommended highly enjoyable and well worth buying on DVD when it comes out.