There is no doubt this is a low budget independent Western. It is evident sometimes in the production design and first and foremost in an often clunky sounding and amateurish script. That it deals in clichés is less troublesome because aficionados of oaters, in which I count myself, not only don't mind cliche in this genre, they positively welcome it. And in this piece, you can tick them off easily, bad guys greedy for land, a corrupt sherriff, backed by an army of deputies, holding down a town by provoking fear with violence, gunfights (complete with close ups of eyes and henchmen who break cover to put themselves in the line of fire) , fist fights, wise native Americans and of course a protagonist that speaks low, speaks slow and doesn't say too much, rather letting his prowess with firearms, do the talking for him. In this role, Kevin Makely is channeling Clint Eastwood all the way down to his cheroot, albeit not as convincingly or as effortlessly coolly. He is the star and essays the role of a Pinkerton detective, sent by a governor, to bring Confederate war criminals to justice, played by respectively Trace Adkins, Bruce Dern and Jeff Fahey. The cast is packed with name actors, nearly all of whom have previous western form and/or make their mark in this one. The big, gravelly voiced country and western star, Adkins, makes an immediate impact in an exciting prologue which ends in a gun battle. Wes Studi brings gravitas to a bounty hunter that is set up as a potential nemesis but becomes a Samaritan, James Russo glowers as a bad guy and Candyman's Tony Todd is wasted in an extraneous role as a senator. Given slightly more to do are Dern and the Oscar winning Mira Sorvino as a father and daughter, the former, part of the hero's quarry and the latter, a romantic interest for the said hero. Both bring depth to the proceedings and manage to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear of a script. Jeff Fahey, too, as an evil sheriff, brings presence in the form of insouciant menace and deadly proficiency with firearms. His finale duel with Makely, refreshingly sees them both hit the deck as they discharge their pistols simultaneously on target. To summarise then, an excellent cast and good action manages to save a poor script. Director Justin Lee is clearly a fan of the genre and makes it all very watchable. Not the best Western you will ever see but it will fill a gap for fellow horse opera followers until the next one comes along.
Review of Badland
