User reviews

You'll need patience to get rewards out of this very slow burn Western, as it won't appeal to everyone. Lance Henriksen and Tom Berenger lead the way here. Henriksen portraying the former bank robber Taylon, now aged and dying but looking to pull off one final heist so he can give the money to his daughter (Meg Steedle). Berenger plays the former Texas Ranger Will McMullen, who is now the eccentric sheriff of the town of Durango, where Taylon's bank target is.

In my opinion, too much emphasis on Taylon's deteriorating health and some unexplained plot elements mar the movie somewhat. But if you're the type of viewer that doesn't mind a slowly developing story, there are rewards here in the believable performances and even some dry humor adding well to the mix.

I watched the first part last night and decided to go to bed, see if the next half got any better tonight. This is not slow moving it's slovenly to the point of tedium. I've watched over half of it now and still don't know what it's about. Who are these characters, what's the story about, when I don't know, I don't care. Have a general idea now that it's about the woman hanging from a tree and the sheriff, along with a possible outlaw gang. Don't understand the Virgil or river man parts, unless it's taking an eternity to build up to good versus bad. If you have the patience of an angel, it might be good.Personally I wished I'd watched the good, the bad and the ugly yet again.

I really wanted to like this movie. Henriksen & Berenger give very good, solid performances. However, aside from a very brief appearance by Danny Trejo, most of the other actors seem to be on loan from the Eldorado school of bad acting. The story is a good old fashioned, slow burning western. But the supporting characters, more so than the leads, just seemed so clichéd (it might have been the bad acting, but I think even good actors wouldn't have helped their roles.) None of the scenes 'in town' or on the train near the end - just nothing seemed authentic. It's a shame because I suspect with more competent direction, a better supporting cast and cinematographer, this actually could have been a great film and character study.

This movie is a perfect example of why plot and plot development is king when creating a film. The casting and strange dialog elements that are drawbacks in this film are easily overlooked because of how great the plot is. Some of the accents and lines simply don't fit and do not feel like they belong. However the story shines through and truly comes to a great resolution. No academy award level film but definitely a decent movie to watch if you're looking for a easily digestible "western"

Lance Hendrikson gives an excellent performance as a terminally ill old outlaw at the end of his life. This is a gritty, existential western about redemption. Tom Berenger is also quite excellent as the town's sheriff. Danny Trejo may have got top billing, but he is barely in this, which is understandable if you look at his filmography, he acts in 20 movies a year. Anyways, this will disappoint some viewers as this is not a shoot em' up western and Hendrikson plays up his flaws and makes his character very believable. Lance Hendrikson and Tom Berenger are truly fantastic here and are some of the more underrated actors in Hollywood that deserve more acclaim. Gone Are The Days is an interesting movie and atypical western that is well worth checking out.

It's a shame for Lance Henriksen, Tom Berenger, and Danny Trejo, to be trapped in a movie that lacks interest, but here they are in "Gone Are The Days". This film qualifies as a colossal mess that is not only sleep inducing, but randomly puddles around like a doodle bug. Henriksen vacillates between blurred reality and confusing hallucinations, leaving the bewildered viewer bored and disinterested as to what he is seeing. In the end, there is no big payoff because you are trying to put together a puzzle with plenty of missing pieces. For a Western, there is no action, but just a slow agonizing terminal cough for 100 minutes. - MERK

Well done, well acted,movie remiscent of the Coen brothers. Quirky characters, ghostly apparitions and mythologic allusions abound. Good acting by Lance Henrickson and Tom Berenger.

It aggravates me to see films as this one with high expectations, only to shake my head in disappointment. Dialogue is way too slow, and I really wanted to like it. Where is the plot, and where it's going?! Those with filled pockets often think they have a winner, but experienced talent can't pull off what does not exist.

Lance Henriksen did an OUTSTANDING and Oscar worthy performance in this slow burn character driven movie. I agree with some of the other critiques that too much time and emphasis was spent on the characters deteriorating health (in the beginning of the movie) but other than that I can't find another fault in this GEM of a movie. Every single actor brought their A game.....The direction was spot on. The setting and costumes were genuine and the camera and lighting were done superbly. The score was appropriate and added to the scenes wonderfully. I bawled at the end.....and I loved it.

Despite having (the always endearingly odd) Steve Railsback and Tom Berenger in supports, Danny Trejo in a cameo the whole show here is Lance Henriksen.

He is a wonderfully convincing as a former bad man, dying of natural causes and unhappy with who he has become physically and, perhaps, mentally. His solution is to exit life in a blaze of glory whilst confronting personal demons and righting past wrongs. Along the way he is joined by the ghost of a colleague and, what seems to be, Death. Cheery this isn't.

The photography is of the modern realism school (perhaps also because of the low budget) and the supporting characters aren't fleshed out. The films starts slow and is short on action but it is a "slow burn" with elegiac asides. It comes across as a cross between the masterful "The Shootist" (1976) and (the somewhat overrated but much loved) "Unforgiven" (1992).

Not magnificent but definitely one for lovers of westerns, who are familiar with the genres tropes or for lovers of Lance Henriksen, of which there should be more.

After trying to stay awake viewing this, seems that anyone can make a western movie. Maybe the original script was ok, but conveying into a film did not deliver at all. Anyone who liked it were most likely friends of the producer/director or were getting high on legal marijuana during filming. Nice try, but don't quit your day job along the film finding its place on Rotten Tomatoes.

01/09/2019 20 minutes in watching this old drunk (Lance in his dirty long johns) cough & hack, break things, try to chop a tree with axe head held sideways, drink more booze, cough cough, hack hack. Wonder if there's a movie in this thing? Saw Danny Trego in the trailer - that's really bad news - a bad indicator of - he plays the same part in every movie that he's in (I'm an ugly bad guy). He gets old after watching him do his stick after 50 - 100 or more movies? ..... and he's far from a pretty boy! So far? ... a really sad movie. Well I finished this dog, it stayed about the same all the way through meaning??? "It SUCKED" Tom Berenger plays the sheriff - Unrecognizable

Bernard Mathews (go look it up you Yanks out there) wouldn't be very proud of this turkey! It's not 'bootiful'.

Watching Lance Henrickson giving one of the best performances of his career is worth sticking around for this morality play to unfold. Take a deep breath, rev down about a thousand and tag along for the great acting.

Yes, movie was slow but still good to see westerns being made. It looks like the time was the turn of the century, but Sheriff Will's saddle had new leather and looked to be a Circle Y model. Circle Y started making saddles in 1960.

You need a lot of patience for this movie. The first half hour or so should have been rewritten, shot again and certainly redirected, as it was as slow as molasses. My patience was rewarded in the second half, but probably too late for many to appreciate the really fine last half hour or so. It's a shame because at the heart this is a good story. Much of the acting is excellent., Tom Berenger, Billy Lush and of course Lance Henriksen are first rate. I understand why people panned it, and it could have been MUCH better, but in the end I was glad I watched "Gone are the Days".

Tried real hard to watch it but the first 40 minutes seemed to take 4 hours. Don't waste your time.

Movie moves kind of slow, focuses on what its like getting old and knowing its almost over

Has some underlying messages on how some younger guys figure old guys are 'out' of it

Redemption the hard way, going out like a man etc

Lots of cigarette smoking

Very good to above average acting, good direction, good camera work, excellent costume work. Characters are believable, ages are correct for roles. Set pieces look real for the times they are in

Trio should NEVER have gotten first billing, he is barely in this movie.

Good symbolism done in the movie for 'crossing over'

--Enjoy

First.....The obvious.....It's a slow moving flick....First point is to go beyond that....This movie does an excellent job of establishing the challenge and more abstract reality for all of us.....At some point in the very near future the best of our days are behind us....Every single human being must face this....

Total waste of time.. "Slow burn" is an understatement.. This movie wouldn't catch fire if you dumped gas on it and tossed a match! Simply awful!

I gave it a 7 to push the ratings up, but it is definitely a 6. Here are the high notes: Hendrickson & Berenger are really good actors and they did great here, evoking the necessary grit and sympathy. Railsback has always been a powerful villain, and he is great here. Outstanding acting among the leads ... and there is a wonderful brief scene, with three children ... very well acted and appropriate in a western. I love horses and scenes of great horseback riding; but here the horses are appropriately old, because the story is about coming to the "end of the trail." All the critiques noted in other reviews are probably correct. This would have made a great short film ... taking out the slow boring parts and awkward dialogue. But the themes of shame, regret & redemption are well played. Having a bigger budget, more flashy action, outstanding sets might have helped, but I doubt it because this movie was not about action ... it was about failures, inaction, and death. I took a bunch of film classes. I bet this film could have been edited better. But I recommend, if you are interested, that you ignore the boring parts and enjoy the themes and the acting.