There has been a revival in the western genre in recent years, though that has been more in terms of quantity rather than quality. Two new ones have reached rental services in recent weeks.
The Old Way is set in Montana, 1898. Colton Briggs (Nicolas Cage) has foregone his violent past and is living a peaceful existence with his wife and daughter, Brooke (Ryan Kiera Armstrong). Their quiet life is shattered when James McAllister (Noah Le Gros), the son of a man that Colton killed, comes looking for revenge. You would be hard-pressed in claiming that there is anything original here. Brett Donowho’s vistas and Andrew Morgan Smith’s score feel familiar from countless other westerns and the revenge/counter revenge story has been done countless times before.
There are also obvious parallels with both versions of True Grit. What it does have is a fine, more subdued performance from Cage, and, after her excellent starring role in last year’s Firestarter, Armstrong shows again what great promise she has. Additionally, Carl W. Lucas’ screenplay gives the pair some enjoyable dialogue.
The Old Way: 6.5 out of 10
Veteran director Walter Hill has proved himself very adept in the western genre in the past, with The Long Riders (1980) and Geronimo: An American Legend (1993). In his latest, Dead for a Dollar, Christoph Waltz plays Max Borlund, a bounty hunter, who takes a job tracking down a white woman, Rachel Kidd (Rachel Brosnahan) supposedly abducted by a black soldier and taken to Mexico. Hill directs efficiently enough culminating in a well-staged final sequence where Max and Rachel have to defend themselves against a Mexican gang. Amongst a good cast, Willem Dafoe gives the standout performance as an old adversary of Borlund. However, the budget limitations are evident and the washed-out colour palette, though giving the impression of an old sepia-tinged photograph, adds to a feeling of drabness.
Dead for a Dollar: 6 out of 10