Very best movie i ever watch

Good concept, poorly executed.

Beautiful, moving film.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

I'm rating this a "10" if only because my wife and I are die-hard fans of Gunsmoke. Yes, there were areas & scenes that could have been better thought out to provide more logical continuity; yes, it would have been wonderful to have the other series characters return if only for cameos; yes, Kitty & Matt were looking older and the makeup could gave been kinder, but hey, if you're a true Gunsmoke fan, none of this matters a whit. My wife and I have enjoyably spent the last several months watching the original shows on YouTube and seeing all of the main characters age as 20 seasons roll through. How great is it to be able to enjoy Gunsmoke all over again after watching the originals from the age of 9 onward? The original opening scene with Matt walking Boot Hill accompanied by a monologue narrative was well done, something that added to the appreciation of that week's episode. By the end of the series with the anti-violence agenda it was blunted with Matt standing on Front Street with none of the expected catharsis of the gunfight we had come to know over the years. We will likely watch many of the old episodes again once we've finished the 5 movies!We don't know what happened with any overtures to dear Ken "Festus" Curtis or Dennis Weaver's "Chester". Indeed, it was sad to see Amanda Blake suffering the vagaries of declining health but wonderful to see her nonetheless; and James Arness looking older than the 12 year interval since the series ended so unkindly. It was a damn shame Milburn Stone had passed away; his portrayal of "Doc Adams" is indelibly etched in the memories I embrace of "Gunsmoke" through the years. Nothing else in TV holds a candle to the best western series ever offered.Steve Forrest was excellent in this movie. His characterization gives the viewer chills with his cold-hearted evil portrayal of Mannon. I could go on with this but let me spare you the agony if you've been kind enough to have read this far! I've given this reunion movie a "10" if for no other reason than we thoroughly enjoyed the reunion of actors who, for us, became their characters; characters we came to love and care about over the years. Thanks to the internet resources we get to enjoy it all over again and there's not a moment we regret in watching the 600+ episodes and movies!

"Gunsmoke" was one of my favorite westerns growing up, I was very excited when the 1987 reunion movie "Return to Gunsmoke" was made.Unfortunately I wished they had brought back all or most of the regulars that were still living. Ken Curtis, Burt Reynolds, Dennis Weaver, and Roger Ewing were in this if they only had a cameo appearance. Another reviewer wrote that James Arness acted more like his "Zeb Macahan" character than "Matt Dillon", and the ex-Marshal would have definitely "NOT" became a mountain man?? They should have open the movie with Matt & Kitty married and living peacefully on a ranch, with Matt a rancher/cattle buyer.Newly O'Brien as the new doctor of Dodge,since "Milburn Stone" (God Bless Him)"Doc Adams" has passed away. In the original series Newly was being trained by "Doc" in many of the latter year episodes.The Marshal should have been Claude Atkins, Glen Corbett, or even Alex Cord,they looked the part of a Lawman. "Mannon" character was superb, for him to be released from prison and go after Matt & Kitty. This would have turned by rating of 6 to a 10!!

I agree with others who have said the Earl Holliman character just didn't fit with the rest of the movie. As for Matt's mountain man look, I think there are many episodes in the series that suggest that if he hadn't become a U.S. marshal, he would have become a mountain man / trapper. But for any Gunsmoke fan, I think it was very special seeing Matt and Kitty back together one last time. Since Kitty wasn't in the last season of the regular TV series, this episode provided some closure to one of the longest screen romances of all time. I think the final scene with Matt and Kitty stayed true to the tone set by the TV series.

While it's a joy to see Matt and Kitty back together, this movie sorely lacked any hint of the Gunsmoke magic. In a nutshell, Matt Dillon is now a mountain man, Kitty has left Dodge and Newly O'Brian the former gunsmith and deputy is now marshal.Will Mannon, the evil gunslinger who appeared in a self-titled episode of Gunsmoke, is released from prison to kill Matt and the judge who put Mannon in prison. Another prisoner, Jake Flagg, who is an old friend of Matt's, breaks out of prison by using the warden as hostage. Flagg needs to warn Matt about Mannon. The gunslinger shoots the warden and Flagg is now wanted by a young, overzealous deputy and some bounty hunters. Several of the unscrupulous bounty hunters actually stab Dillon who is found and taken back to Dodge where he awakens to find Miss Kitty. Matt tries to help protect Flagg meanwhile Mannon returns to Dodge where he torments Miss Kitty as he did in the original episode. Back then he had raped Kitty and beat her, something Matt did not know.Okay, inconsistencies. First, but this is my opinion, Matt would not have become a Mountain Man. It's just not him(maybe they got him confused with his Zeb Macahan character from How the West Was Won). Second, Kitty explains why she left Dodge. It's a flashback from the episode "The Badge" where Matt is shot and Kitty just can't handle seeing him hurt anymore. Any fan of the show would know that this episode(don't know when it aired but certainly not in the last year of the show) ends with Matt meeting Kitty and sort of convincing her to come back, which she does. The movie made it sound like she never came back. Amanda Blake left the show in 1974. There are reports she claims she was sick and tired of the character and the commute(she was living in AZ at the time). Others question that producer John Mantley fired her for money reasons. They allegedly did not get along at all. Third, in the episode Mannon, he is apparently shot dead from how the episode ends but I guess it could have been interpreted as him possibly surviving.Those are disappointments show-wise. Other ones that made fans cringe are James Arnesses' hair and make-up, absolutely scary. Kitty looked her age and did not look bad at all. Amanda Blake had contracted AIDS and she later died from the disease 2 years after this film. Ken Curtis did not return, he reportedly wanted more money than Blake. Finally, Matt and Kitty never kiss at the end, they never even get together. She see's him through a window and sheds a tear as he goes back to his lonely life. Reportedly, the original script had Matt walk into the hotel where Kitty was(and you could use your imagination). There were too many Flashbacks which took away from developing the plot to this movie. They actually show one Flashback twice.John Mantley produced the movie and I was surprised someone with such a grasp on GS let this be the end product.Also, the cover art for the movie on this website only show's James Arness. There is another version which has a small picture of Kitty on it.Otherwise, it's fun to see M&K back together.