Hollywood, it would appear, has lost its mojo for making Westerns. A one-time staple of the industry that made many an actor famous and often synonymous with the genre (think John Wayne or Gene Autry), such offerings are rare nowadays. That's especially true for those that stick somewhat close to the genre's tried and true conventions.
Of course, it doesn't help that audiences haven't really had a hankering for the likes of "Appaloosa" (2008) or "3:10 to Yuma" (2007) that both underperformed at the box office. In fact, it's been 11 years since any Western grossed more than $100 million at the domestic box office (that being "Wild Wild West"), and even the critically lauded, award-winning and absolutely spectacular "No Country For Old Men" (2007) -- which wasn't a true western but certainly had the themes, archetypes and such -- failed to break that pivotal mark.
Undeterred by that, one of its stars, Josh Brolin, now takes another stab (of sorts) at the genre with "Jonah Hex." Based on the DC Comics' character of the same name (I seem to recall buying one of the issues in the '70s but not being impressed enough to put it into regular purchase rotation) but altered heavily for the big screen, the film seemingly does the impossible. And that's make one yearn for and actually see some good in watching Will Smith getting jiggy as James West in that overblown "WWW" fiasco from the late '90s.
Yes, "Jonah Hex" is now easily a front runner for one of the worst mainstream releases of the year. Mercifully clocking in at just 81 minutes (yes, you read that right, and that even includes credits), the film features inept direction, a script that meanders from one meaningless event to another and features a bevy of characters (embodied by recognizable faces) that don't amount to a hill of beans, horrendous editing (designed, as usual, to try to appease the short attention span video game crowd) and sub-par special effects.
All of which is too bad as there's some potential (okay, just a little) in "them thar hills." For one, we have the standard, gruff anti-hero who doesn't take highly to authority, and is quick with the quip and pulling of his trigger. The filmmakers -- director Jimmy Hayward ("Horton Hears a Who!") and screenwriters Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor (collectively responsible for "Gamer" and the "Crank" films) -- have even thrown in a twist not present (as far as I can tell or at least remember) in the original comic. And that's their hero's ability to talk to the dead. Not as in through a medium or ghost whisperer, but my grabbing 'em and yanking back to life long enough to get info out of them before sending them back into decay.
It's not exactly original (the short-lived TV show "Pushing Daisies" did something similar), but at least it elicits a moment of interest for viewers who will otherwise be bored out of their minds. Sure, there are shoot-outs, explosions, and the sight of Megan Fox in a cleavage-overflowing corset, but those are only momentary diversions (although one will ponder how the actress didn't break ribs or crush internal organs in the outfit that's cinched so tight and small around the waist that it doesn't look humanly possible).
The plot, filled with plenty of unnecessary flashbacks to establish exposition, motive and such, along with obligatory voice-over narration, is basically fueled by revenge based on familial murders. In one of those flashbacks, we're told (clumsily, I must add) that the titular protagonist (Brolin) killed the son of the film's villain (John Malkovich, slumming it, but unfortunately not hamming it up enough), so he kills Hex's family and then leaves him for dead.
That near death experience leaves him with the "touch the dead" gift and he uses that to try to track down the villain. But he's not the only one after him, as President Grant (Aidan Quinn) is concerned about Turnbull having turned into a terrorist and preparing to use a weapon of mass destruction during the nation's centennial celebration. Yes, you read that correctly, but by the time those related special effects enter "Wild Wild West" territory, most viewers will have already lost interest in the decidedly less than involving characters and storyline.
Brolin does what he can with the limited material, but there isn't enough tongue in cheek humor (the film is so obvious isn't surprising we don't see his tongue through the hole in his disfigured cheek to drive home the point) or Clint Eastwood style vengeance to interest, engage, or get us rooting for him to dole out justice, Western style. It's just chaotic and disorganized mayhem that won't do a thing for the genre except tighten the noose around its neck and move it one step closer to a six-shooter demise. "Jonah Hex" rates as a 1 out of 10.
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