Echoes of War

Sitting through the entirety of Echoes of War was a difficult task, to say the least. I guess I was expecting something else, something totally different, something entertaining. It reminded me of sitting through one of those educational films in high school history or science class. You want to watch it because you're hoping to learn something (in this case be drawn in by a compelling story), but you end up with heavy eyelids and your mind drifting off thinking about whether you want a Big Mac or a Whopper when the bell rings or final credits come up.

If I'm going to be expected to sit through a slow burn drama like this, it damn well better be captivating with staggering performances. Echoes of War had neither. I think James Badge Dale and William Forseythe are decent actors and did a fair job considering what they had to work with, but the material was simply too sub-par to expect anything more from them. The characters are one-dimensional and predictable. Difficult to tell if you can fault the direction on this or not. Sometimes even when you have a great director at the helm of a slow, deliberate drama, it can still fall flat and fail to move an audience.

The other problem I had with this film was the score became slightly distracting at times. I gave this a rating of 3 only because I'm a fan of the Western genre, but if you're forced to watch this thing, I suggest you suck down 10 cups of coffee beforehand.

Lord almighty, I don't know what this filmmaker was trying to accomplish with this thing, but it was so incredibly boring. I was hoping this was going to be more interesting, but the pace was excruciatingly slow and the story not at all compelling. There was nothing in the way of performances to get excited about and the production value looked really chintzy. Doing a period piece in general is challenging enough, but doing a Western without stars or a seasoned director is a tall order certainly not filled by this effort. Unfortunately there is nothing I can recommend about Echoes of War other than it should be avoided if you value your time. Truly one of the dullest Westerns, if not films, I've ever seen. Zzz...

I challenge anyone to sit and watch this movie in its entirety. The writers of this material must have been really really high when writing this. And the people who funded this must have been even higher. The people behind this couldn't have made this any more boring if they had tried. Stupidity begets stupidity.

Screenwriters John Chriss and Kane Senes have provided a screenplay filled with way too many western cliché's and not enough original content. Re Senes' direction, the sluggish pace causes this film to spiral out of control. The acting in the film is also weak. James Badge Dale is very one dimensional in his role as the war veteran. William Forsythe's character is also a lost cause: acting as the antagonist in the film, you neither understand, nor do you care about the events of his past that have lead to the person he is now. Echoes of War is a film that struggles to resonate any true enjoyment for its viewers. A story that is not original and is in fact quite boring, it is destined to ride off into the sunset and out of our memories very quickly. Don't waste one second of your time on this film. You can thank me later!

Nothing happens in this. Seriously...nothing! If you're going to rehash the tired Hatfield and McCoy-type saga, either make it bold and fresh, or go figure out something else to do. To call this boring and pedestrian is an understatement. I would have rather been coughed on by strangers with COVID19 than to kill a half hour on this.