To enjoy this movie, first, disregard any facts you may possess about the Hatfields and McCoys and, second, release any expectations of realism. Then just take the ride. I did appreciate the acting, the Kentucky scenery, and the wonderful music. I thought Jeff Fahey and Perry King were very good as the family heads. This is not the real story of the feud, but it is a story. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It makes sense and is easy to follow--because it is a condensed, pared-down, dummied-down, made-for-TV kind of movie. It uses the bare minimum of family members, relationships, and events. Don't bother comparing it to the outstanding Kevin Costner mini-series. Just take it for what it is, and you might see it as the hour and a half of escapism that it is. Not terrible. . . .

I have not seen any other production on the Hatfields and McCoys. I have nothing to compare it to other than history. This story goes from the beginning of the feud up until the pregnancy of Rosanna. It portrays the heads of both families, Devil Anse Hatfield (Jeff Fahey) and Ran'l McCoy (Perry King) as being honorable men. Christian Slater, who played the governor of Kentucky, wasn't as strong as the rest of the cast. The romance between Rosanna McCoy (Kassandra Clementi) and Johnse Hatfield (Sean Flynn) was poorly developed as we go from some flirting in the general store to a note to a full fledged romance. I will say that Kassandra Clementi in her role as Rosanna brought to mind Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone." This is perhaps the only bright spot of the film.

The fire on the roof was a CG effect. Doesn't anyone burn their sets anymore? The shooting of Asa McCoy by crazy Jim, was in part because he wore a Union uniform, but was also because Asa was college educated and had all kinds of different ideas. Yes, Jim Vance did shoot him, but nothing like it was shown.

This film fails as history. I won't go into details as to prevent plot spoilers, but it was inaccurate from beginning to end. If you want to feel like you are watching a western, this film will pass. It is loosely based on the historical tale.

No f-bombs, sex, or nudity.

Having no idea if the intent of this production is to ride the coattails of the History Channel's "Hatfields & McCoys" mini-series one has to think so. Obviously that one raised the current day brand recognition to an all time post WWII height, why not make a few lousy dollars?

Sadly, this seems to be the the purpose of this "K-Mart" version of the tale. I suppose if it wasn't up against the superior History Channel treatment it may look like a much crisper (almost too clear 16:9 production reeks of HD videotape, i.e., no film soft grain) 1970's ABC "Movie of the Week", but since many viewers will be watching this after seeing the far superior Kevin Costner version it pretty much is laughable.

In addition to the bargain basement production values we get a much different story. I know from research that The History Channel deviated somewhat, but here we have a very topical story with seemingly even more deviation. There just ain't any meat on these bones and the bones themselves are broken. In the back of my mind I get the feeling Jeff Fahey might have been quite good if given more to work with...That's about all I can say as the other performances were less than "phoned-in" to coin a phrase.

O.K., it's watchable if somewhat laughable. That's the only reason I give it a 3 (full disclosure: If I had paid to see it the rating would be less). I don't know how much they paid Christian Slater for his meager role here, but seriously are infomercials next?