Bar 20 Rides Again: Simple, Dusty, and Surprisingly Fun

Is it worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for black-and-white westerns where the good guys wear white hats and the bad guys look like they haven't slept in a week, then yeah, pull up a chair. If you need complex character arcs or, I don't know, a plot that doesn't involve cattle rustling, you might want to skip this one. It's a breezy watch, honestly.

William Boyd is just rock solid as Hoppy. He has this way of holding his gun and looking at a horizon that just sells the whole thing. The rest of the Bar 20 crew feels like a real group of friends who’ve spent too much time on the trail together.

Nevada, on the other hand, is the kind of villain who really likes the sound of his own voice. He’s got these big plans to be an emperor of the West, which is just absurd when you think about it. It’s funny how he takes himself so seriously while everyone else is just trying to move some cows.

Oddly specific things I noticed:

• The sound of the horses hitting the dirt is way louder than the actual dialogue in some scenes.
• There’s a moment where a hat is knocked off and someone trips over it—I’m pretty sure that wasn't supposed to happen, but they kept it in.
• The way Gabby Hayes moves is just… he’s always leaning into the camera like he’s trying to tell you a secret.

The pacing is fast. Maybe too fast? Sometimes you blink and the whole herd has been moved to the next valley. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Busting Buster, though obviously with more spurs and less slapstick.

I caught myself watching the background extras during the town scenes. Half of them are just standing there, looking like they’re waiting for their lunch break to start. It’s charming in a weird way. It makes the world feel small, like everyone is in on the joke.

Is it better than some of the more dramatic stuff I’ve watched lately, like Madness of Youth? Maybe not in terms of raw emotion, but it’s a hell of a lot more fun to sit through on a rainy Tuesday. It doesn't ask you to solve any riddles. It just gives you a showdown and lets you go home.

The movie isn't going to win any awards for deep thinking. But it’s got heart. That's enough for me. 🤠