Popular reviews

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  Review by Michael Shawn ★ 6

  A truly lousy pilot film that mercifully failed to sell, avoiding millions of deaths-by-boredom every week. Noted writer Stirling Silliphant offers shockingly bad paycheck work. Even star Sam Elliott hated the adaptation of one of a series of books, saying "The writers seemed to think, 'MacDonald sure wrote some wonderful books, but I can do better.'" Wow...I honest-to-God say all the time that that's the worst problem with Hollywood adaptations -- arrogant screenwriters who think they know better. Well, Silliphant sunk this with his dismal voiceover garbage that thinks it's a film noir in the 1940s and with the dullest possible detective story. It has no pulse and no soul and the dialogue stinks. Elliott acts as bored as I felt. The thing is, this has a fantastic, stacked cast. But they can't save it. They just lumber from one episodic encounter to another, no one seeming to even care about the central mystery, so why should we?

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  Review by harry ★★★

  Sam Elliott is Travis McGee, the knight errant, the "salvage consultant." Star of 21 of the finest detective novels, McGee holds court on The Busted Flush, the houseboat he won in a marathon game of cards. The Busted Flush is his castle, Florida his domain.

  This, the second adaptation of John D. MacDonald's series, jettisons all of that. Instead of muggy South Florida, Sam Elliott's McGee has relocated to California and rocks a series of fantastic sweaters. This would be an issue if most every scene didn't take place inside nondescript offices. Why bother then?

  Sam Elliot may not be the scarred, cynical troubadour of the novels, but he delivers the lines gamely and did I mention he looks good…

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  Review by joelnox ★★★ 1

  Not having read the source novel I didn't have a preconceived notion of how this played out which apparently is different than the book. Sam Elliott's shaggy charm made the lead character easy to like and root for and the supporting cast is certainly a great collection of excellent character actors working at the time.

  Neither brilliant nor terribly inventive it is nonetheless involving and moves at a good pace. Either the producers or the director knowing what they had in their leading man made sure Sam was wearing the least possible most of the time, even in situations where it didn't necessarily make sense!

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  Review by Wilson ★★★

  I rather liked Travis McGee.

  Travis McGee is a 1983 American TV movie based on the 1978 novel The Empty Copper Sea by John D. MacDonald. It was the second film adaptation of the Travis McGee series and clearly doesn't have the quality of Darker than Amber, which is a real gem. However, I think Travis McGee has a lot of recommend to it.

  First and foremost it has Sam Elliott. Elliott is great as McGee. It probably isn't as relaxed as the McGee of the book, but he definitely feels at home on boats and beaches. Elliott is a great Western actor, but as Lifeguard showed he is also a great beach actor. If such a thing exists.

  What makes Travis McGee more interesting…

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  Review by Mike Baard ★★

  Based on John D. McDonald's THE EMPTY COPPER SEA, this ABC TV movie has ace creative collaborators delivering a routine thriller that plays dull for long parts but is enlivened by the game cast. Director Andrew V. McLaglan directs a meandering script by prolific screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. Sam Elliott is solid as McGee, his laid-back narration is exposition heavy but this is a TV movie dependent on moving at a pace. Clearly made for a budget, this lacks the edge of the more thrilling Mcgee movie Darker Than Amber and never gets out of second gear.