It amazes me how reviewers here on IMDb can watch the same movie and come to wildly differing opinions. I get it that someone may or may not like a particular film, that's fine. But when you have those who enjoy a film for it's story telling and others who state they couldn't follow it, I just have to wonder if paying attention might have solved that problem.
So I guess that's what is at issue for this finely constructed tale. It's about a couple of law enforcement officers attempting to curb the trade in ammunition to a violent Mexican cartel that won't stop at anything to insure receipt of their bullets, or exact revenge on those who stand in their way.
Right out of the gate, any film with Ian McShane is going to hold my interest. After seeing him for the first time as the violent saloon owner Al Swearingen in the HBO series "Deadwood", I've been a loyal fan. His character, aging sheriff Leland Kilbaught calls to mind the role of Tommy Lee Jones in "No Country for Old Men", the difference being that Kilbaught hasn't become the wistful lawman regretting the way times have changed and passed him by. He's still whaling away in the thick of things, even after a new sheriff is assigned to replace him when he takes out a drug mule working for Shep Diaz (Jim Belushi) and Ken Mercey (David H. Stevens).
We never actually see the Mexican cartel gun lords calling the shots in the small, unnamed Arizona town where the story takes place. The tension is provided, again, in similar fashion to 'No Country's' relentless hit-man Javier Bardem, by the similarly motivated assassin called Atticus, forcefully portrayed by John Leguizamo. What was a bit convoluted though, was the idea that he was seeing a local woman named Lilly (Karli Hall), thus making him a known commodity in Los Reyes County. One would expect a villain like Atticus to be dispatched by his employers as someone who would remain largely anonymous.
That the movie offers it's fair share of gory violence shouldn't come as a surprise, it's something one would expect with the attendant story line. The machete business on the part of Atticus is particularly nasty as new sheriff Wallace would remorsefully attest. The one painful scene that tickled me was when Marla (Lynn Collins) took the sledge hammer to Shep's foot. Before it happened, I was thinking to myself that she should go with it, and if I saw it coming, Shep should have too. I bet that hurt like hell.
The thought I had to ponder when Wallace eventually put down Atticus had to do with Leland begging him to hand the gun over and not reduce himself to the level of the bad guys. My version of the story would have that happen so Leland could do the honors, thereby allowing Wallace to make a getaway without the killing on his conscience. Leland seemed to be the kind of guy who wouldn't have cared one way or the other. At least Leland got some measure of revenge with the final scene, but for that you'll have to catch the movie.
You know, as a big Johnny Cash fan, I was surprised that the song played over the closing credits was one I never heard before - 'God's Gonna Cut You Down'. It fit well enough, probably even better than the one I would have picked - 'When The Man Comes Around'.
So I guess that's what is at issue for this finely constructed tale. It's about a couple of law enforcement officers attempting to curb the trade in ammunition to a violent Mexican cartel that won't stop at anything to insure receipt of their bullets, or exact revenge on those who stand in their way.
Right out of the gate, any film with Ian McShane is going to hold my interest. After seeing him for the first time as the violent saloon owner Al Swearingen in the HBO series "Deadwood", I've been a loyal fan. His character, aging sheriff Leland Kilbaught calls to mind the role of Tommy Lee Jones in "No Country for Old Men", the difference being that Kilbaught hasn't become the wistful lawman regretting the way times have changed and passed him by. He's still whaling away in the thick of things, even after a new sheriff is assigned to replace him when he takes out a drug mule working for Shep Diaz (Jim Belushi) and Ken Mercey (David H. Stevens).
We never actually see the Mexican cartel gun lords calling the shots in the small, unnamed Arizona town where the story takes place. The tension is provided, again, in similar fashion to 'No Country's' relentless hit-man Javier Bardem, by the similarly motivated assassin called Atticus, forcefully portrayed by John Leguizamo. What was a bit convoluted though, was the idea that he was seeing a local woman named Lilly (Karli Hall), thus making him a known commodity in Los Reyes County. One would expect a villain like Atticus to be dispatched by his employers as someone who would remain largely anonymous.
That the movie offers it's fair share of gory violence shouldn't come as a surprise, it's something one would expect with the attendant story line. The machete business on the part of Atticus is particularly nasty as new sheriff Wallace would remorsefully attest. The one painful scene that tickled me was when Marla (Lynn Collins) took the sledge hammer to Shep's foot. Before it happened, I was thinking to myself that she should go with it, and if I saw it coming, Shep should have too. I bet that hurt like hell.
The thought I had to ponder when Wallace eventually put down Atticus had to do with Leland begging him to hand the gun over and not reduce himself to the level of the bad guys. My version of the story would have that happen so Leland could do the honors, thereby allowing Wallace to make a getaway without the killing on his conscience. Leland seemed to be the kind of guy who wouldn't have cared one way or the other. At least Leland got some measure of revenge with the final scene, but for that you'll have to catch the movie.
You know, as a big Johnny Cash fan, I was surprised that the song played over the closing credits was one I never heard before - 'God's Gonna Cut You Down'. It fit well enough, probably even better than the one I would have picked - 'When The Man Comes Around'.