Synopsis
Maverick is a gambler who would rather con someone than fight them, and needs an additional three thousand dollars in order to enter a winner-takes-all poker game that begins in a few days, so he joins forces with a woman gambler with a marvellous southern accent, and the two try and enter the game.
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Cast
- Mel GibsonBret Maverick
- Jodie FosterAnnabelle Bransford
- James GarnerMarshal Zane Cooper
- Graham GreeneJoseph
- Alfred MolinaAngel
- James CoburnCommodore Duvall
- Dub TaylorRoom Clerk
- Geoffrey LewisMatthew Wicker / Eugene, Banker
- Paul L. SmithThe Archduke
- Dan HedayaTwitchy, Riverboat Poker Player
- 80
Variety
This exuberant Western is a crowd-pleaser that remains faithful to the genre while having a roaring good time sending up its conventions. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
The first lighthearted, laugh-oriented family Western in a long time, and one of the nice things about it is, it doesn't feel the need to justify its existence. It acts like it's the most natural thing in the world to be a Western. - 75
Chicago Tribune
Succeeds, just barely, on the good will of its stars and the sumptuousness of its Western locations. - 70
The New York Times
Fast, funny, full of straight-ahead action and tongue-in-cheek jokes, Maverick is Lethal Weapon meets Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. That combination won't win any prizes for originality, but it works like a movie mogul's dream and sets the summer-film season off to an unbeatable start. - 70
Time
The film offers us Mel Gibson as a new Bret Maverick, the Western gambler, as well as the old TV Maverick, James Garner, now playing a wry frontier sheriff. These two guys can make you smile contentedly even when the script is wandering and they're just sort of standing around waiting for its next good part to develop. - 63
Christian Science Monitor
Little about Maverick lingers in the mind once the final image has faded from the screen. But it's cleverly crafted, and you can't help enjoying it even when you know it's manipulating you as brazenly as a poker dealer with tricky fingers and a well-stacked deck. - 60
Empire
The plot is one the original writers would have been proud of and with Garner, himself, appearing it gives the film a seal of approval. A rare performance from Foster who is surprisingly funny and Molina giving a good supporting performance, it's an enjoyable family film. - 60
Los Angeles Times
Crammed with such big-name crowd-pleasers as Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner, Maverick reaches for that Feel Good feeling. It settles for Feel OK.