Don't listen to the negative reviews

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Some years ago, when IMDB had user comments (and the "six degrees of separation game" - good times!) I left a comment that said something to the effect of "If you're from NM, you get it. If not, well..."I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of Robert Redford, but he and the cast of the movie hit the nail on the head with this movie. Is it slow? Yes, sometimes painfully so; sometimes, deliciously so. But then, so is life in the area of NM where this was filmed. Personally, I prefer reading the book to watching the movie, but should you ever decide you want to visit northern NM afterward, you'll almost immediately say, "Oh, yeah. I can totally see that happening here."I will admit, I'm a bit biased since I had a couple of family members who had bit parts in the movie. (Watch for the lady selling chile peppers in the town, as well as the one trying to climb into the truck as it's taking off!) Give it a chance, enjoy the music and cinematography, At the end, you may just say, "Huh. I actually liked it." It's rated R, but by modern standards it's barely a soft PG-13 - for at least one f-bomb, as I recall. Take that out, and I could see it almost passing as a PG.

A small town of mostly Mexican residents is about to be ruined by a land developer who has visions of hotels, motels, condos, and ski lodges dancing in his head. The few hundred men and women in Milagro are divided about what to do. Some see construction jobs bringing in money and excitement. Others feel that "our town is a family." The developer and his team of henchmen are all in this together, but the conflict between the townspeople grows until an accidental shooting takes place. The main mean guy, Christopher Walken, hunts down the accidental shootist, Chick Vennera, but the victim of the shooting recovers and refuses to press charges. Richard Bradford is the head of the development company and gives up his attempt to buy the land, raging against his advisers. This summary makes it sound like some angry docu-drama, but it's a surprisingly gentle and whimsical movie.This is a kind of tricky area to deal with in any kind of fiction. The tendency is to make the villagers and the interlopers generic. How many times have we seen these romanticized peasants? They always go about their business in a languid informal manner. They sing a lot. They eat with gusto. They don't mind a drink now and then. They have a great sense of humor and a mystical feeling for the land. Often there's a highly respected, or at any rate easily tolerated, dotty ancient man or woman.And how often have we seen the equivalent of these land developers? They dress in suits and ties. They're full of guile. They press the law to its limits and maybe a little beyond. They have no particular feelings for each other. Their only interest is pelf.The director, Robert Redford, doesn't entirely avoid these clichés, but he keep them about as toned down as this kind of story permits. Some of the actors aren't that convincing, but Christopher Walken certainly is. Every performance he gives seems like a polished gem. The film has virtues beyond the plot and the other usual elements. The photography captures a magnificent landscape. Not staggeringly majestic -- not the Grand Canyon -- not that raw -- but a silent and self-satisfied ocean of pinyon and juniper clotted rolling hills. You can almost smell the Pinesol.Alas, though, the tony resort development is a canard. That's not the problem facing these small-town good guys. It's the people who are going to live in those condos and ski on those slopes that present the problem and the problem extends far beyond the town limits of Milagro or even San Juan County. And it's not a pleasant problem to contemplate because it involves us.The people who will live in those condos must live somewhere, and some day they will have to live here, and, as the local editor, John Heard, points out, they'll demand clean water and restaurants. Taxes will skyrocket and urban sprawl will sprawl.In 1950, the population of the earth was roughly 2 billion. It's now 6 billion and by 2050 will have doubled.Robert Bradford and the Ladd Devine Development company may give up in disgust but can anyone doubt that there will be another such entity offering greater bribes ten years from now? Or that eventually one or another such entity will get what it wants? Or that such entities are only the thin end of the wedge of a change process whose proportions are monumental?The good folks of Milagro are going to lose their village, just like everybody else. But how can we argue against population growth? You might as well argue against motherhood and apple pie.

When I entered Lewis & Clark College in autumn, 2002, I took a sociology-anthropology class. The teacher told us about water distribution systems and recommended "The Milagro Beanfield War" as a look at this topic. Since I had seen a number of Robert Redford's (who turns 71 today) movies during the past year and had thus taken an interest in his work, I decided to watch the movie.I have to say that it really impressed me. I don't know whether to describe it as mystifying, ethereal, or something else. I could go forever in trying to praise it, though I don't consider it the greatest movie ever. But I definitely extend the recommendation that the teacher gave the class.Starring Ruben Blades, Daniel Stern, Melanie Griffith, John Heard and Chick Venera.

This started off so well, with some absolutely beautiful New Mexico scenery, I had high hopes. Unfortunately, they were dashed the rest of the way as director Robert Redford had to shout his Left Wing politics loud and clear in our face.So what we wind up with is a low-down, dishonest greedy Right Wing big businessman running the poor little guys out of town and only those good-guy liberal activist minorities saving the day. We even get a dose of Christian bigotry here where those poor picked-on-pagan gods are run out by Christians! Well, you just know what side is going to win: yes, those wonderful left wingers, adored by the film industry.This VHS went into a garbage can where it belonged. Adios!!