It's Western Wednesday!
Now, I've reviewed some great Westerns on this blog. Films like True Grit, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid... Today's movie isn't one of those great Westerns, it's 2015's Jesse James: Lawman.
One look at it and you may have the same initial reaction that I did, "Kevin Sorbo and Peter Fonda, well this should be halfway decent...". Well unfortunately, despite their names getting top billing, Sorbo and Fonda have pretty small roles in the film.
The film starts off with J. Dalton (played by Kevin Sorbo) telling a reporter that he is actually legendary outlaw Jesse James and he changed his name and started a new life after faking his death. The reporter is initially skeptical, and so Dalton proceeds to tell him the story of a time when Jesse James actually worked with a sheriff to help a small town. Cut to some years ago when younger Jesse James (played by Andrew Galligan) rides into that small town and is quickly recruited by the Sheriff to infiltrate the Killian gang that has been causing the town trouble. The thought is that the gangs leader, Hoyt Killian, would love to have someone of James' caliber as part of his gang, thus giving the sheriff a man on the inside. This plan is apparently fine with the town's Mayor (played by Peter Fonda) because he just wants his town to be safe and quiet. From there the movie doesn't offer up a whole lot, and it muddles around to a predictable end. Occasionally there is a cut back to the office where Sorbo is telling the reporter the story, but nothing all that interesting happens.
Whether you want to point to the lackluster acting, the poor editing, the flawed directing, or the lousy dialogue, this movie is as let-down from start to finish. I usually advocate for checking out any Westerns you find because I think it's an underappreciated genre, but you can skip this one.
I give it a 0 out of 5.
Have a suggestion for a review?
Leave it in the comments below, and don't forget to check back every week for another 'Western Wednesday' review.
One look at it and you may have the same initial reaction that I did, "Kevin Sorbo and Peter Fonda, well this should be halfway decent...". Well unfortunately, despite their names getting top billing, Sorbo and Fonda have pretty small roles in the film.
The film starts off with J. Dalton (played by Kevin Sorbo) telling a reporter that he is actually legendary outlaw Jesse James and he changed his name and started a new life after faking his death. The reporter is initially skeptical, and so Dalton proceeds to tell him the story of a time when Jesse James actually worked with a sheriff to help a small town. Cut to some years ago when younger Jesse James (played by Andrew Galligan) rides into that small town and is quickly recruited by the Sheriff to infiltrate the Killian gang that has been causing the town trouble. The thought is that the gangs leader, Hoyt Killian, would love to have someone of James' caliber as part of his gang, thus giving the sheriff a man on the inside. This plan is apparently fine with the town's Mayor (played by Peter Fonda) because he just wants his town to be safe and quiet. From there the movie doesn't offer up a whole lot, and it muddles around to a predictable end. Occasionally there is a cut back to the office where Sorbo is telling the reporter the story, but nothing all that interesting happens.
Whether you want to point to the lackluster acting, the poor editing, the flawed directing, or the lousy dialogue, this movie is as let-down from start to finish. I usually advocate for checking out any Westerns you find because I think it's an underappreciated genre, but you can skip this one.
I give it a 0 out of 5.
Have a suggestion for a review?
Leave it in the comments below, and don't forget to check back every week for another 'Western Wednesday' review.
No comments:
Post a Comment