Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #110888 in VHS
• Released on: 1996-04-30
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Running time: 99 minutes

Amazon.com
Miles Utley (Tom Berenger) is a guerrilla for God, a gun-wielding member of the Danites, the militia wing of the Mormons during the late 19th century. Once the defensive arm of the besieged church, the Danites (dubbed "the Avenging Angels") are now feared by the Utah congregation and Utley is too good at his job: he's become, one accuser says, "A man who murders in the name of peace." After stopping an assassination attempt on the life of Brigham Young (a quietly authoritative Charlton Heston, whose star presence makes the most of a handful scenes), Utley is quickly hidden away and the details hushed up, but as he pulls at a few loose threads he unravels a conspiracy that shoots to the very top of the church. The twisting plot makes for an engrossing mystery and the locations are never less than gorgeous, but the real hook is that this conspiracy film is inspired by a real but little-known bit of Mormon history. Berenger is a natural as a buckskinned, quick-draw Mormon soldier, holding his own in scenes with grinning Western icon James Coburn as Utley's easygoing but ruthlessly dedicated mentor. As the mystery winds up, the more interesting dimension of Utley's crisis in faith is transformed into showdown heroics, which makes for a rousing old-fashioned conclusion if a disappointing character study. --Sean Axmaker