Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire (2005) (TV)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Aaron Norris

Writers (WGA):

John Lansing (written by) &
Bruce Cervi (written by) ...

Release Date:

16 October 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Secret Weapon | Modern Western | Crime Investigation | Martial Arts | Courtroom

Cast

Chuck Norris	...	Capt. Ranger Cordell Walker
Sheree J. Wilson	...	Alex Cahill
Judson Mills	...	Ranger Francis Gage
Clarence Gilyard Jr.	...	James Trivette (as Clarence Gilyard)
Andre Kristoff	...	Ranger Rhett Harper
Janine Turner	...	Ranger Kay Austin
Bret Loehr	...	Jeremy Hopkins
Steven Williams	...	Detective Mike Burton
Bruce Locke	...	Blue Eye
Mitchel Musso	...	Josh Whitley
Ned Vaughn	...	Garrett Evans
Brady Coleman	...	Judge Finch
Danilee Kelly Norris	...	Angela Walker
Charles Baker	...	Herman Van Horne
Kit Gwin	...	Mrs. Whitley

Runtime:

120 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

City Hall - 1500 Marilla Street, Dallas, Texas, USA

Company:

Norris Brothers Entertainment

Movie Connections:

Follows "Walker, Texas Ranger" (1993)

The Return of the Ranger

Yes, you heard right. Walker, Texas Ranger is back on primetime CBS, surprisingly, with all the main characters in tact. After a four year hiatus, the series is back and front-kicking more butt than ever. The new series for the year of the rooster has Walker after a Korean crime syndicate and on the trail of a puzzling murder where the prime suspect is a Texas Ranger. The Korean criminals are after a young boy named Jeremy Hopkins (Bret Loehr), in search of a high tech computer chip named the Mark V. We even get to see Steven Williams as a Texas police officer. This new trip back to Dallas seems to be the best thing that has happened to the series in a while, but there is still something wrong with the show that is a problem in most American television series.

"Trial By Fire" has a sweet side and a sour side. The sweet side is all of the good fight scenes. I just realized that Walker, Texas Ranger was the only martial arts TV show on the air. At one time, CBS had a martial arts bandwagon with Sons of Thunder and Martial Law, but those shows failed and only Walker remained. When Walker went off in 2001, there were no other martial arts TV series to follow it up. So CBS is doing fans of the genre (like me) a favor by bringing the show back. That is the sweet side. The sour side is the quality of the show. The creators probably didn't care or realize how fake some of the fight scenes look (if anyone sees the part when the Korean criminal dodges the bullet, you can't help but chuckle). However, I can't knock the show too bad because no other network will tackle a martial arts drama. Some of the acting is a bit laughable as well. Some of the new actors to the show must not have much experience with being on a drama series. The parts of their performance where they are supposed to be serious just don't come across very well. Overall, I do like the show, but it still has the same problems that I feel that many TV shows have.

6 Crescent Kicks out of 10.