The Thicket

The story and plot was easy to become invested in. It has gritty, interesting, and engaging characters. The story is compelling, violent, raw, and unpredictable. The outlaws were very bad, and the good guys felt like real people. There were many very tense and exciting scenes. The scenery and settings were authentic to a turn of the century rustic western era. The character acting was flawless throughout. I also quite enjoyed the music track. Overall, this movie was well written, well made, well acted, engaging, interesting and worthwhile. I can easily recommend it, but, it's not suitable for children.

If you like westerns, you got to see it!

Peter Dinklage is amazing in it. Every attempt Dinklage makes to be a Bonafide leading man has never failed! He's shown time and time again that he has the chops, and this movie is no different.

But Juliette Lewis! This was a surprise indeed! Not saying she has not proven herself a good actor as well, but man! She locked down one of the best bad guy performances I ever scene. It's one of those things where the internet is going to need to make a click bait list of most underrated Villains in cinematic history just so they can put Cutthrought Bill on the list persuading the cult status.

Last but not least (well actually...) Jame Hetfeild. I have to admit I'm a big enough fan of Metallica to put in the effort to see this in theatres (which may not have been the cheapest choice considering its a Tubi original film and might be released on the format in a few days for free). Everything I know about Hetfeild is that he took a long time to come out of his shell to try holding some lines in a film, but he does it and does it well enough. It was fun seeing him act.

Surprisingly and oddly unique as a western too taking place in what must of have the very end of the wild west. No dates were given but it is interesting to see cars and bikes in a western. I'm guessing 1910 or 1911.

Anyway, it can drag along some times but overall, it was worth sitting though.

A lot of what the characters do makes very little sense. For example the protagonist seemingly has one central goal but then stops to do a good deed that almost destroys everything. A good deed that also has a giant Afro in frontier times? Juliette Lewis' huge lips are also very distracting. Decent story and shot beautifully but things like these pulled me out of the movie.

Peter Dinklage kills it as he does 100% of the time. Great to see him in this unique role and hope he gets more like it in the future.

This paragraph is just to make my review long enough for the new six hundred character requirement instituted because Amazon's $1Billion snow ranked and got bombed on this site. Hopefully they change it back because this is a waste of my and everyone else's time for quite literally absolutely no reason. Boom six hundred characters.

Set against the unforgiving backdrop of the Wild West, The Thicket tells the story of a mismatched group of individuals: Reginald Jones, a bounty hunter portrayed by Peter Dinklage; his loyal sidekick Eustace, played by Gbenga Akinnagbe; Jack, who enlists their help to rescue his kidnapped sister (Levon Hawke); Lula, the sister in peril (Esme Creed-Miles); and the menacing outlaw Cut Throat Bill, brought to life by Juliette Lewis.

This film evokes memories of Sergio Corbucci's spaghetti Westerns, yet it opts for a more subdued palette, emphasizing the darker aspects of its narrative and employing somber cinematographic techniques. It is only towards the conclusion that the visuals begin to brighten.

The storyline is populated with nefarious characters and unstable individuals, all too willing to inflict harm on anyone displaying courage or a strong moral compass. Consequently, the innocent siblings endure their share of hardships before they learn to adapt and survive in this brutal, unforgiving environment. Their plight is compounded by the tragic loss of their parents to smallpox and the murder of their grandfather (Guy Sprung) by Bill, which sets off this harrowing journey.

In summary, this film is likely to captivate those in search of a chilling, action-packed thriller that embraces its brutality and mercilessness with a haunting, macabre flair. Enjoy!

In bright but dark western "The Thicket" Levon Hawke's sis Esme Creed-Miles is taken by notorious crim Juliette Lewis (so good again) & her gang - so Hawke teams with Peter Dinklage (also great), Gbenga Akinnagbe & Leslie Grace to hunt them down across bleak snowy terrain... while they themselves are hunted by James Hetfield (yes, him) & Macon Blair. Characters, dialogue and the relatively simple plot are all well written by first-timer Chris Kelley (based on Jon R Lansdale's novel) and it's superbly directed in his trademark ethereal yet gritty style by the classy Elliott Lester (who's growing a solid reputation). Terrific fare, especially for western genre fans.