Badland

you need to watch this amazing movie

This movie was not what I expected. It was one of the worst westerns I've seen to be honest. I guess one can praise the effort but the whole thing was a miss. The acting wasn't good, the writing wasn't good...I am quite surprised of it's high rating.

If you're a fan of classic westerns this movie is for you.

Rubbish. I love westerns and rewatch the good ones again and again. I love the old ones especially, like The Searchers or Rio Bravo or How the West was Won etc. Most westerns with Gary Cooper or Henry Fonda or John Wayne or Randolph Scott and of course Clint. I am sure I am missing some however this movie does not come close to the Westerns these guys made. As for the top ratings, as someone said, Paid For reviews, must be.

Greetings again from the darkness. Westerns are always a risky proposition for a filmmaker, but some are drawn to the genre and seem to thrive on the intricacies that fans have come to expect. Justin Lee is one such filmmaker. He wrote and directed this film and follows the familiar tropes: a quiet, proud protagonist; the strong, lonely woman; the corrupt gunslinger - maybe wearing a badge, maybe not; and of course, the battle of good versus evil. Kevin Makely stars as Matthias Breecher, a Civil War veteran and now Pinkerton detective carrying out the orders of Senator Benjamin Burke (Tony Todd, CANDY MAN, 1992). Senator Burke has pledged to track down war criminals and hold them accountable by administering justice. Breecher is the Senator's hired hand who travels from town to town, serving warrants and dealing with those who refuse to abide Mr. Lee's film is divided into four chapters. Chapter 1, "The General", finds Breecher face-to-face with tough-talking General Corbin Dandridge (Trace Adkins). It's here where Breecher first flashes his impressive gun skills, and it's soon after where he crosses paths with Harlow (recent honorary Oscar recipient Wes Studi), a competitor in the "bounty-hunter" game. Chapter 2, "The Cooke's" has Breecher tracking down Reginald Cooke (played for all it's worth by a finger-wagging Bruce Dern), a sickly old man dying slowly from pneumonia and living with his daughter Sarah (Oscar winner Mira Sorvino). Local bad guy Fred Quaid (James Russo) is trying to seize the Cooke's land (apparently this is the possessive apostrophe in the chapter title). During this segment we get a nasty fist fight, an ugly shootout, and Breecher falling for Sarah and actually shushing his horse. Chapter 3, "The Sheriff", brings us to the terrifically named town of "Knife's Edge" where equally terrifically named evil guy Huxley Wainwright (Jeff Fahey) wears a badge and rules the town with a reign of terror, and with Old West waterboarding. There is even a double-tap grave side shootout. It's an old mining town and the citizens live in fear - especially the good-hearted barkeep Alice (Amanda Wyss). The segment ends with a 'high noon' duel in the dusty street. Chapter 4, "Breecher", acts as a finale for our hero, a man we are told was "born to violence." His dreams of owning land may have faded, and soul-searching has him reckoning with the man he's become. Mr. Makely reminds of actor Anson Mount in his ability to hold a scene, and we can't help but think that in his younger years, Mr. Fahey could have easily played the Breecher role. Despite the out-of-place linguistic stylings, director Lee proves the lessons of the old west never get old, and it leaves us with the message ... 'Be still, young man."

Have you ever seen someone ride their bicycle straight into a wall for no apparent reason? That's this movie, but in slow motion. You feel awkward watching it happen, you wonder why you're still watching as it happens, and you feel compelled to fast forward through the experience just to confirm, "Yup, they crashed alright." The death of this movie is the dialogue. The premise was fine, the setting was fine, the actors seemed like they were capable of so, so much more. I literally cannot comprehend how someone can film actors delivering such awful dialogue in the most wooden, uninspired, and awkward ways. I kept watching just because I couldn't believe someone would go to the trouble to create a whole movie like this. Didn't anyone think, "You know, this might play better if we spoke like human beings?" Actors were going in and out of period, the language almost never fit the people or the situation, everything was drawn out without drama. I actually wondered, at one point, if the whole screenplay had been written by a machine learning algorithm. Ugh. Skip this movie, forever. I watched it for you, and you didn't enjoy it.

Well buffed out Pinkerton Detective/Cowboy - Mathias Beacher - who says little, wears all black and hunts down fugitive Confederate war criminals with his two Colt Peacemakers and Spencer carbine with the intent of hanging each one. His two bosses are both former slaves. First he offs fugitive rebel Trace Adkins and all his bros after a bizarre conversation in his barn. Then he tracks down one Confederate Capt Cooke on his ranch in the desert - played by an ancient looking Bruce Dern who is only shown in a white nightgown in every scene. Not a good look Bruce. Given that Bruce is already dying he spares him and at the same time falls for his sexy middle aged daughter - Mira Sorvino, looking pretty cute in her cow girl duds. She does not seem too bothered that Mathias came to kill her dad and falls for the guy. The bathtub scene is a bit much where Mira walks in on Mathias cleaning up his body builder body. But I guess she wanted to check out the merchandise before buying so to speak. Finally he tracks down a war criminal turned corrupt sheriff running the quaint little town of Knife Edge, a town filled with old geezer cowboys and surprisingly attractive prostitutes. The Sheriff even shoots one of the hookers over a $12 debt she owed him. What was that about? While Mathias manages to dispatch the sheriff and all his posse in a classic gun fight in the middle of the street, he ends up gut shot - basically a fatal wound. But that does not stop him from riding all the way back to Mira on her ranch. No real ending to the film to see what happened to the happy couple. A good combination of a dumb story, bad acting, and unbelievable characters. And what is with Mathias's unusual affection for his horse. Not going there.

Had all the right stuff! Great western from start to end. Story was strong, and cinematography was sharp and on point! Would watch again with friends!

I don't understand the poor reviews. Not the best western of all time but very enjoyable.

This one has gained some rather unkind and unfair reviews. I'm a western fanatic and am also very critical when reviewing movies. I really enjoyed this film and with superstars like Wes Studi and Bruce Dern what could possibly go that wrong? The movie is skillfully divided up into 4 chapters and each one builds and gets stronger. I really liked the cast and with a sharp script (and with exciting gun play) I was pretty much rooted to the screen. Ignore the negativity the haters and give it a go.