Directed by Jim McBride ("Great Balls of Fire", "The Big Easy"), this project was produced by Showtime not long after "Get Shorty" was adapted, circa the same time as Jackie Brown.
This screenplay wasn't a comedy, but, after the success of the humorous "Get Shorty", McBride seems to have tried to direct it as such -- which is evident from the tone of the introduction.
Timothy Olyphant is going to be the definitive Raylan Givens, even though his portrayal is different from the the Givens portrayed in the novels -- James LeGros's portrayal is more consistent with Givens as written by Leonard, despite McBride's directorial approach.
Using "Justified" as the baseline comparison for this production is daft. It preceded "Justified" by thirteen or so years. The basis of comparison should be the source-material, the novel on which it is based. This adaptation is from a very different era of this film/tv industry (before the zeitgeist became "gritty!") and should be viewed with that in mind.
This screenplay wasn't a comedy, but, after the success of the humorous "Get Shorty", McBride seems to have tried to direct it as such -- which is evident from the tone of the introduction.
Timothy Olyphant is going to be the definitive Raylan Givens, even though his portrayal is different from the the Givens portrayed in the novels -- James LeGros's portrayal is more consistent with Givens as written by Leonard, despite McBride's directorial approach.
Using "Justified" as the baseline comparison for this production is daft. It preceded "Justified" by thirteen or so years. The basis of comparison should be the source-material, the novel on which it is based. This adaptation is from a very different era of this film/tv industry (before the zeitgeist became "gritty!") and should be viewed with that in mind.