Day of Reckoning

Not really your typical action western film but I still brings a punch of excitement with how much action the films has. Scott Adkins delivers in the greatest way possible. Scott adkins martial arts/ hand to hand combat scenes were amazing and blew me away. Everybody pretty much had decent acting and the shootouts were also very fun and exciting to watch. This movie is better than most modern westerns and it delivers to its fullest. Billy Zane does a great job playing as a Marshall hunting down Adkins character who happens to be Kyle Rusk, the head of a bank robbing biker gang. Definitely recommend this film to anyone.

This movie is so poorly written it's almost bizarre. There are certainly a lot of characters in this movie but in order to enjoy a film, especially a thriller/crime drama with supposed good guys and bad guys, most people need someone to root for. So in this film are we suppose to root for the weak, lame-brained, gullible, naïve sheriff, the lady bank robber who is also an admitted killer, her killer bank robber boyfriend or Trace Adkins in a small role. On top of turning the worst or at least most moronic characters into the ones we are suppose to be rooting for, the writers decided that some characters should completely change personalities to advance the plot. The movie is well made, the acting is ok, Billy Zane stands out as excellent, but the plot completely fails every actors best effort to make this an enjoyable movie. It may come as a strange compliment but Zach Roerig plays an almost mentally challenged sheriff really well. His lead character is so unlikeable , almost an anti-hero, that it ruins the entire movie.

Not sure why this movie isn't reaching more theaters or audience. It's better than a good amount of movies I've seen so far this year. It's worth seeing if you're on the fence about it! I wouldn't call it a western. That's a bit of a stretch in my opinion. I love seeing the under appreciated sherrif in the town be the good guy, and sticking to his guns. The shoot outs were fun and we'll filmed overall. The plot was good, the actors did really well. This is a hidden gem of a movie and I hope it gets more people watching it. While it didn't blow me away, I'd love to watch it again.

Watched at AMC on 3-31-2025.

Nearly a perfectly movie! Travis J. Opgenorth wrote a finely tuned script with an astute ear for Southern and working class masculine vernacular; and the actors with director Shaun Silva at the helm delivered it with absolute authenticity. By the way to label this a martial arts film because of the very few moves that Scott Adkins brings to a all of two scenes is a massive overstatement. Adkins goes far from usual screen persona and does a great job as villain, a bad guy. However, his character, like everyone's in this beautifully unfolding revelations about each, is more than the cliche that might populate the movie the lazy viewer might have expected. The funny thing is, or sad, the lazy viewer could watch this movie and miss the subtleties, the clues for the viewer to enjoy, the dinstinct tracks the various characters follow as each changes toward cowardice or betrayal or conviction or bravery or resignation. The script and the cinematography don't force feed the viewer anything. Of the the viewer wants to enjoy an intricate and well presented bit of cinema, here it is; pay attention. I found it easy; I couldn't look away. But if a viewer is looking cliche derivative predictable escapist mindless action, he or she will probably be able to superimpose that expectation here, but ultimately end up disappointed. The pacing of the movie is that of a mature narrative; there is a story here; several parallel stories as it happens. The emerge to form the foundation of this film's story, the movie cannot progress without due reference to one or moreover them at due times. So, the movie fails to please as an action film. This is because it is far better than an action film.

I love seeing Scott Adkins in this role. He's fierce and villainous, yeah! But we can see he still has his own code; he's conveys a sympathetic character, as well. It's fantastic and super! To see Billy Zane here! What he does with his character is captivatingly crazy. With the help of cinemetographer Keith J. Leman, Zane owns the screen every time he's on it no matter is there. Kara Jade Myers' character, Emily Rusk is, perhaps, the constant element necessary to the story, and Myers' portrayal is incredible. Emily Rusk is either the dynamite or the glue, but I was left wondering how Myers came up with all that she found to put into this one performance. And finally, it must be said that every performance in the movie was right, was authentic, people responding to other people and to situations; there was no acting visible on the screen, no fake action shots. This a story about a sheriff who tries to avoid violence getting caught up with three US Marshall's doggedly pursuing it; and it takes off from there and becomes much more.

Ignore the high ratings from the crew members and bots. The acting is good and all the technical things one would expect to be good like the cinematography, audio, editing and so on are there. No, that is not where this film fails. Once again, like pretty much everything else media companies pump out these days, the problem lies in the writing. I found myself constantly being dragged out of the film because I kept asking myself, "Why would they do that?" and saying things like, "That doesn't make any sense."

Now, I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone so don't expect me to give you any examples. I'm sure you're here because you've already seen the movie and if you haven't, I'm sure my opinion isn't going to stop you. And if I'm being honest, I stopped watching in the middle because I'm tired and old and I don't want to waste my time with a movie that can't be bothered to at least try and hire someone who can actually write something with a little thought put into it. So, I'll just end this with my recommendation to not waste your time either.