6 Guns

A through and through western revenge drama. Being filmed in 2010 do we expect more than we do from a classic like Hang 'Em High? Yes we do, and the film is lacking Clint Eastwood. Nonetheless taken at face value it's an hour and 30 minutes of overwrought entertainment.

The woman protagonist who's family has been murdered, of course learns gun craft in less than the time it takes to bake a cake.

Nice 20th century coins in the poker scene, BTW. The sheriff is a decent actor and gives the movie a bit of character, the bounty hunter is a stern father figure but is reaching. Almost all else is stilted and seems forced to a greater or lesser extent. Anyway, "bottles don't shoot back"..

I watch a lot of movies and have probably seen all modern westerns. I have also been a homeless young person and was raised on the streets so I know what is going on out there. I really bought into this one. The characters were believable. Sure, they don't show the whole mourning process of the woman who lost her family. No movie does. I wouldn't change a word of this movie and I would recommend it to any western buff. Especially if you look for "real" in a movie. The actors were brilliantly cast. The bad guys really fit the part, with different levels of sensitivity and hardness. The director has a great vision. I'd like to see other things this writer director and actors have done. Western lovers, watch this movie.

Not sure what makes this Western genre offering from The Asylum so surprisingly decent. My guess is pure mathematics. When it doesn't have to spend money on special effects from bargain-basement CGI house Tiny Juggernaut, The Asylum can devote those same dollars to scriptwriting, direction and location scenery.

This is essentially a mockbuster of the new "True Grit," with Barry Van Dyke unconvincing in the Jeff Bridges role and cutie pie nobody Sage Mears in the Hailee Steinfeld part, rewritten here as an alcoholic milf who hires Van Dyke to help her seek revenge against the bad guys who raped her and murdered her husband and children.

It's not his fault, but Barry looks so much like his father Dick, it's hard to take him seriously as a rough bounty hunter. You half expect him to burst into "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in every scene.

And because he must have some sort of contract that says he appears in every third Asylum movie, Greg Evigan shows up as an old, fat, useless sheriff who only serves to remind us baby boomers how old, fat and useless we've gotten since "My Two Dads" too.

It's true the weaponry here is anachronistic and the money shown in the poker game scene is too modern. And yeah, pretty much every cowboy in this movie rides his horse like it's the first time he's ever been on one. But really, even the most authentic of Westerns have always been revisionist fantasies. The Asylum isn't asking too much when requiring we take this one with an extra grain of salt.

Why? Because ultimately, it works. For some reason, "6 Guns" works as a whole to create a harmless cowboy flick that's better than you would expect from the king of direct-to-DVD cheese. After all, this is the company that gave us "Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus," so I think we need to count the few blessings The Asylum throws us.

This is a movie that could have garnered more accolades and bite - if there was time for the actors to do "multiple takes" of some scenes. The lead actor (Barry Van Dyke) was good but could have emoted a lot more intensity in some of his scenes with the lead actress. Barry was the perfect point man to make this movie "Better" than what was wrapped up. Greg Evigan could have turned up the juice too as he played a support to Barry's character. And the lead actress should have done some of her scenes with a lot more bite, fierceness and overall " I'm seeking REVENGE" quality to make her more believable than vulnerable. Typical story-line and plot-twist make it predictable and kind of fun to watch.

RELEASED TO VIDEO IN 2010 directed by Shane Van Dyke (Dick's grandson), "6 Guns" stars Barry Van Dyke (Dick's son) in a Shane-like role. The plot is pretty typical for Westerns: A band of outlaws murder & rape a family, but the wife (Sage Mears) survives and, after overcoming her disillusionment, wants justice. She eventually enlists the services of a taciturn bounty hunter (Barry Van Dyke) to teach her how to shoot. Meanwhile the outlaws are on the prowl.

"6 Guns" is a quasi-remake of Raquel Welch's "Hannie Caulder" from almost forty years prior, but lacks that one's comical edge. There are some obvious elements of other Westerns, like "The Bravados" (1958) and "Pale Rider" (1985), but what else is new?

Barry is notable as the laconic bounty hunter as he fits the role of the rugged loner to a 'T.' He's akin to Eastwood in the Leone trilogy, but is an actual human character rather than caricature. Geoff Meed chews up the scenery as the main villain with gusto; it's obvious why his men fear him. Mears is quite good as the female protagonist, convincing and winning the viewer's sympathy, while Erin Marie Hogan stands out as the ravishing brunette saloon babe, Scarlet.

The vibe is nicely realistic and the locations smack of harsh Western authenticity. All of this is topped off by a great score by Chris Ridenhour, which definitely perks the movie up and gives it class. In fact, the movie's worth watching just for the score.

I'm only giving "6 Guns" 6.5/10 Stars because, even though it's a solid Western, it's also low-budget and kind of standard. If I gave it a higher grade people might expect something better than what it is. Still, if you like an occasional Western this one's worthwhile.

I was surprised to discover that this was made by The Asylum, a film company notorious for releasing cheap knockoffs of major releases to steal some of their thunder. The Asylum has certainly put out some cartoony dreck (e.g. "30,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "Mega Piranha"), but they can also surprise you with some worthy low-budget stuff (e.g. "The Land That Time Forgot" and "Grimm's Snow White"). "6 Guns" ranks with the latter.

THE MOVIE RUNS 95 minutes was shot in California (Spahn Ranch, Chatsworth; Paramount Ranch, Agoura; and Snegoff Ranch, Topenga Canyon). It's rated 'R' for the brutal murder/rape scene.

GRADE: B- (6.5/10)