Movie Poster

I never killed nobody that wasn't trying to kill me.

# Review

Christoph Waltz and Willem Dafoe are two of my favourite actors so when I saw this film on my river cruise TV I knew I had to check it out. The film harkens back to the days of spaghetti Westerns, where the plot is simple with a clear good versus evil theme and the setting and costumes harken back to the Wild West. The story follows bounty hunter Max Borlund (Christoph Waltz) who is tasked by wealthy businessman Martin Kidd (Hamish Linklater) to track down his wife Rachel (Rachel Brosnahan) who has been kidnapped by Elijah Jones (Brandon Scott), an army deserter. At the same time, Joe Cribbens (Willem Dafoe), an armed robber who Borlund captured is being released after serving a five year sentence.

The plot is as generic and predictable as they come and the characters are all cookie-cutter. The cinematography feels cheap, almost like a B movie or a TV film. The set and costume design also feel like the film is on a shoestring budget. The script is extremely bland and lacks any nuance. The cast overall are pretty dry; there weren’t any standout performances. What’s disappointing is that even Waltz and Dafoe are pretty flat in this movie as well. The one shining light is Xander Rodzinski’s musical score, which is very nostalgic and reminded me of Ennio Morricone’s scores.

# Conclusion

A low budget throwback to spaghetti Westerns.

# Overall rating: 6.1

What does the rating mean?