thecode-07392 Yeah, I hated it. The script is pathetic. Yelling, incidentally, does not equal acting.

Michael Ledo Paul (Ethan Hawke) is some specially trained soldier who has deserted his wife and daughter for "what he has done" to run off to Mexico with his dog. He makes a pit stop at the town of Denton where he is forced to beat up Gilly (James Ransone) the town bully and deputy and also son of the Marshall (John Travolta). Then through a series of circumstances this becomes a formula, cliché filled revenge film. Paul gets the help of Mary Anne (Taissa Farmiga) a talkative girl who has a thing for him. Karen Gillan who is top billed has a smaller role as her sister and girlfriend of Gilly.This is not a great film, although I found it strangely entertaining, like watching a train wreak. The characters were written poorly and I wondered how these top names were coerced to make a film I would expect to see Eric Roberts. Ethan Hawke spends the entire film in a mental fog. The final killing was a formula "twist" that I saw coming from 30 minutes into the film. And what was with the dishonest preacher? (Burn Gorman) Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

Robert J. Maxwell Ethan Hawke and his dog ride into a dusty Western town with a population of no more than ten, stop at the local bar for a quiet drink, and Ethan is insulted by a a wan and villainous young man in black, is challenged to a fist fight, knocks the bad guy out with one blow, is warned by the marshal, John Travolta, to leave town and never return, does so, but that night is attacked by the loudmouthed braggart in black and three of his friends, who kill his beloved dog and throw Ethan Hawke over a cliff. Hawke returns and kills them all.That's about all the attention this chimera deserves.But, being a generous kinda guy myself, I'll note that there are two professional performances in the movie. There is John Travolta, who does quite well as the crippled and common sensical sheriff, and the dog. This is the kind of dog that would melt the heart of anyone except the braggart in black and his accomplices. The dog responds to Hawke's comments as if with a fully blown Wernicke's area. He covers his face with a paw when shamed. He goes out and fetches kindling for the camp fire. He investigates strange noises at night without barking, for fear of waking his master. Taissa Farmiga, Vera's sister, is a lonely widow of sixteen. She's appealing in the way that some nineteenth-century dolls are cute but it's impossible to judge her acting chops because the role of desperate chatterbox has her so completely hemmed in.James Ransone as the baddie in black, and Karen Gillan as a housemistress at the hotel, are unspeakably bad. Gillan gives a performance of the sort you might find in a high school play in East Windsor Township, New Jersey, but Ransone is even worse. My God, he's outrageous -- sneering, shrieking, blustering, and otherwise engaging in what's usually called "overacting." He's not helped at all by the script, which introduces some romantic comedy exchanges about pregnancy into what is otherwise a thoroughly dramatic situation.

wendellfountain This was a veiled attempt to recreate a Clint Eastwood character of the spaghetti westerns for which Mr. Eastwood realized great fame and success in the 1960's. Simply put, Ethan Hawke isn't Clint Eastwood. My greatest criticism of the movie is inappropriate dialogue for the time depicted in the film. I have several examples of verbiage not suited for the time period, but I will leave that to be experienced by the viewer. Some of the violence seemed to be a little overcooked. Though Hawke did a credible job as the lead character, his performance did not rise to the level of Travolta. Dog Abbie probably gave the best performance in the movie; however, all of the supporting actors did well in their respective roles.