Jonah Hex

This fantastic/terror/science-fiction/Western deals with a disfigured gunslinger named Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) , a scarred bounty hunter with warrants on his own head , he is wanted dead or alive , reward 50.000 dollars . President Grant (Aidan Quinn) is informed of the train massacre by Lieutenant Grass (Will Arnett) and surmises that Turnbull plans to attack the Union on the Fourth of July (the country centennial). Grass is told to find Jonah and hire him to stop Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich) . The U.S.A. President and his assistant make an offer he cannot refuse: in exchange for his freedom, he must stop a terrorist who is ready to unleash Hell on Earth by means of an atomic bomb . After that , Jonah goes to a brothel and spends the night with Lilah (Megan Fox), a bitch attracted to the scarred gunfighter for more than just professional interest . Later on , Jonah heads to Fort Resurrection and Independence Harbor , Virginia , looking for the ominous criminal Quentin .

This moving picture blends action , western, shootouts, fantastic elements with hallucinogenics shots , besides a little bit violence. The final confrontation amongst the starring and contenders on the ship is overblown with amazing and stirring images . The storyline from Brian Tyler and Navaldine based on original comic books characters appearing in magazines published by DC Comics and created by John Albano & Tony DeZuniga , though the drawings are much better, thus the film is some boring and isn't well paced . The story bears certain resemblance to ¨Blueberry¨(2004) by Jean Kounen in similar style, theme , scenarios and hallucinatory special effects created by Ariel Velasco Shaw . The motion picture obtained limited success, as United States as Europe failed at box office . Exciting musical score fitting to action by Marco Beltrani . Colorful though dark cinematography by Amundsen , mostly filmed in New Orleans , Louisiana. Jimmy Hayward direction is mediocre , without originality and nothing new to show , being a simple copy based on the comic books. Hayward is an expert on Animation Department in charge of ¨Toys 2¨, ¨Bugs¨, ¨Monsters S.A.¨ , ¨Finding Nemo¨ and directed ¨Horton¨ and ¨Jonah Hex¨ this is his first film in real frames . Rating : acceptable and passable . The flick will appeal to peculiar and rare western buffs

I'm a fan of comics and westerns so even though I knew of Jonah Hex in name only this was something I knew I could probably at least sit through. I've seen some reviews and they seem a little harsh. It wasn't anything special but it moved a long fairly quickly and I wasn't bored for what that's worth.

I agree with others that Brolin was a good choice for Hex. I was glad to see Malkovich there but he seemed a tad underwhelming. I think he's a great actor so I trust he nailed the character though. Will Arnett stuck out like a sore thumb in the small number of scenes he was in. He's a goofy, funny guy I just don't really want to see him in a serious role. You almost can't tell if he's for real or being sarcastically serious. Megan Fox is Megan Fox. Why people are complaining so much about her acting I have no idea. She's there for sex appeal. No one thinks she's the next coming of Meryl Streep or something.

The movie looked a little too synthetic for me especially some of the "ultimate weapon" stuff. It looked a little too clean for a western too. I don't know why some movies like There Will Be Blood can look so authentic and suck you in to the setting but others like this just look too fake.

I figured there would be some fantastic elements involved even though it was grounded in real life, just because of the comic influence. That might have prepared me a little more for the stuff others might have found to be out of place. In fairness movies are a little bit like watching a sporting event for the first time. If you don't know the rules or know what to expect you're likely to not enjoy it much. After the first 5 minutes or so I figured as much to not be jarred by some of the more out of place plot elements, so all in all I thought it was a short, somewhat entertaining movie. Glad it wasn't much longer though.

I'm hesitant to call this an out and out terrible movie as some have labelled it simply because it was mildly entertaining. There's a lot of action, some cool ideas, a great performance by Josh Brolin and the short 80 minute running time doesn't hurt it either.

The sad truth of the whole thing is that it just didn't come close to its potential. For starters, Jonah Hex didn't have to be macabre and supernatural...to my knowledge this wasn't even part of the original comic books that the movie is based on. The original story is simple, Jonah Hex's family is murdered, he's horribly scarred and left for dead. He gets better and sets out for revenge. It's a pretty classic western tale...one that we've seen before but given the general lack of western movies these days, that doesn't matter...there's plenty of room in theatres for a fun out for revenge Western. Having said all that, the supernatural ideas that they came up with are actually kinda cool, and I would've been happy to see them mixed in, if only they'd been handled better. Instead these elements seem tossed in as an excuse to include CG effects that the box office loves oh so much.

The end result is an unfortunate mash up of a good ideas...that maybe could've worked if more time had been put into development, it feels like it was either slapped together too hastily or suffered from a massive reedit...during most of the film I couldn't shake the feeling that there was maybe a 2 hour+ director's cut lying on the floor somewhere which may or may not be a superior and more coherent film. I was looking forward Jonah Hex based on a short appearance he had in a Batman cartoon years ago...from that alone I thought the character had a lot of movie potential but I was let down. Brolin's performance is the best part of the movie. Malkovich is good but nothing too spectacular considering his track record, and even Megan Fox is half decent but she doesn't have a lot to do with her pretty much useless character.

As first: The actors are very good. Second: The special effects are awesome. Third: There's a story to it.

This is a great movie that you nearly never see any more. It's got a fun theme: Wild west, and it is kind of a superhero movie. If you look at the new movie: Cowboys & Aliens, then Jonah Hex looks way better. Also the actors were great. There are quit some famous actors, like Megan Fox, and the roles are also being played very well.

The special effects I can describe in one word: Awesome. Every special effect is well done, like the huge explosions. Also the clothes and view is very western and good.

The story is well thought. There is a real storyline, not like there isn't in some other movies, like scary movie 4.

The only thing that is a bit of a pity is that the movie is only one hour and nineteen minutes. That is really short.

So there for I give the movie as rating: 8

Sometimes I wonder if people that reviewed this film actually watched it, or if they gave it a chance, not like second glancing at it because they're cooking dinner at the same time.

Jonah Hex is an entertaining little movie based upon the DC Comic Book character. To be honest, I've never read the comic, had little expectations coming in, and wouldn't have gone to see this in the theater. This genre is admittedly, 'right up my alley'. Usually I check some ratings on here before renting movies so that I avoid the flops. Thankfully, I didn't look on IMDb until AFTER I had already rented it. So when I looked at IMDb's 4.6 user rating AFTER renting it, but BEFORE watching it; my expectations were lowered even further, and I nearly put off watching it, again. Nevertheless, it was due the next day and I popped it in the DVD player when the other-half went to bed(too bad - she would have liked it). I have a good sound system and a nice TV - both made this action/western/fantasy even better.

Let's take a look at some of the films on IMDb with similar user ratings - specifically some of the worst films that I have ever seen/wasted my time and money on.

Ready to Wear(Pret-A-Porter)4.8 Actually rated higher than Jonah Hex. This was two hours I will NEVER get back. A terribly boring movie with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

King Solomon's Mines 4.6 Tied with Jonah Hex. This may be the worst movie I have ever seen. A literal walk out of the theater. And I know what you're thinking. I talked about giving movies a chance earlier, but I revisited KSM years later, and it still remains the worst film I've ever seen in my lifetime, 1 and a half times.

Toys 4.6 Enough said.

Jonah Hex' style is true to the comic book theme. The opening of the film is excellent, and gives us a good foundation for an entertaining storyline. John Malkovich is ALWAYS a good adversary/bad guy, and Josh Brolin IS Jonah Hex. Megan Foxes' role is small, and she serves every purpose, much like a smoking hot Bond girl. Her Body alone makes this film worth 4.6.

But, Jonah Hex is much more. It's interesting, it's action packed, and it's well-paced.

Now, is it believable? No. What comic book based film is? Is it Oscar worthy? No. Will it appear on any legitimate 2010 Top Ten lists? No. Jonah Hex is the pure definition of a popcorn flick. Not just one that rare movie watchers might over-rate(It's no nine or ten), and one that critics will annihilate, but one that is sure to surprise many who give it a chance. It's worth the rental - especially if you have a TV and sound system that can give you a near theater experience. I like some of the subtle touches to this movie, and Malkovich and Brolin really help the cause.

58/100

You'll like it if you liked: Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer, Brotherhood of the Wolf, and Timecop.