I saw this movie back when it came out in 1987, and it had a tremendous amount of hype about the Steve McQueen connection to the original 1950s TV series. Steve McQueen had died in 1980, and the buzz about the Wanted Dead or Alive movie started around 1984.
Rutger Hauer had big shoes to fill, to capture the spirit of Josh Randall. Steve McQueen's Josh Randall character was very direct and to the point. He was not sentimental at all, and he often had to use his smarts and his sawed off rifle to get out of trouble. Josh Randall also used a lot of snappy dialogue and quick wit. Josh never stayed in one place. He was always on the move, making decisions on impulse. He loved women, but he was never in love.
Rutger Hauer's version of the character is very morose and sentimental. He is in love with a girlfriend. He has a boat that is also his man-cave, and a warehouse that is his main headquarters. Rutger has a motorcycle, but he is very much grounded to his possessions. He is not a traveling bounty hunter in this movie. Hauer is very methodical, his style is closer to Hunter, or Walker Texas Ranger than to the original Josh Randall. The spirit of the TV series Renegade was closer to the original Wanted: Dead or Alive, than this movie.
The action is typical of a Chuck Norris movie, The A-Team TV series, or Hunter TV series. There is a fair amount of shooting, explosions, and killing. Gene Simmons plays a major role in this movie, and that is a plus for KISS fans!
This movie is not bad, but it could have been better. There was a feeling from the tone of the movie's ending that sequels were intended, or a TV series re-boot, but it never happened. This film is an interesting footnote to the legacy of the original Wanted: Dead or Alive TV series.
