In a Valley of Violence

Considering this is basically what Ti West cooked up following a double viewing of John Wick and any given Sergio Corbucci flick, it's... really f***** good! Damn I'll just go ahead and say it: I was more entertained by this than John Wick (some of that I simply chalk up to Hawke being a more emotional and curious presence than Reeves, personal preference, and beyond the premise and some key moments it's not exactly the same as that).

This is no masterpiece or anything, and I don't necessarily think it was trying to be. West clearly loves this genre, and wants to do his own twist on it, which carries some especially graphic violence (if you had trouble with movies like The Thing, don't watch this), and some strong supporting work from Karen Gillan and John Travolta (the guy who plays Travolta's son, the real main bad-guy, is one note but the actor plays him for all his worth).

This kind of well-produced, surprisingly and wildly funny straight-faced homage western (especially near the super intense and, as the title says, violent climax, that threw me for a loop, such as everything with the one guy who protests being called by his nickname by John Travolta and demands to be called 'Lawrence') is something that pleases me. If it's ever on TV I'll stop and watch it. 7.5/10

Paul (Ethan Hawke) is a cowboy who travels with the only company of his dog Abbie. In an attempt to shorten the path that will take them to Mexico, the gunslinger and his dog make a stop in a small, apparently quiet town, where they meet some outlaws and the son -Gilly (James Ransone)- of the sheriff (John Travolta) with whom he has a turbulent conflict. Taking place a threatening confrontation, and in order to avoid greater evils, they decide to leave the place immediately. Keep Your Finger on the Trigger !.

Ti West directs this peculiar western that includes: vengeance, shootings, desert dust, corruption and bloody showdown. The film is made in somewhat similar style to typical spaghetti Westerns with usual theme: a merciless vendetta. Dealing with a mysterious stranger and a random act of violence drag a town of misfits and nitwits into the lethal crosshairs of revenge. Well crafted Western with interesting screenplay; though we had already seen the main issue of the film before and better in other movies. The story is almost terrific as the drifter comes to strange town just in time to reckoning villagers and bandits. Although atmospheric, it's also downbeat and sometimes just downright nasty. This violent picture contains a powerful examination of morality and hypocrisy on people of a little town. The film owes a considerable debt to ¨Clint Eastwood's High Plain Drifter¨ (which was a kind of remake to ¨Sergio Garrone's The Strangers Gundown¨) taking several elements from this film, as well as Sergio Leone's others.

And a good cast of actors led by Ethan Hawke and John Travolta, who play the stranger with a tragic past and the villainous marshall who becomes a peacekeeper. As the story progresses, providing its characters with all the characteristic elements of the genre. They are accompanied by two beautiful women, previously promising figures and today sufficiently established: Taissa Farmiga and Karen Gillan.

Director Ti West frecuently uses focus on the faces and bodies of our protagonists to show the despair and unsettling happenings, adding brilliant cinematography by cameraman Eric Robbins , suspenseful musical score by Jeff Grace and eliptical edition. The film could be described as a figurative immersion into the meanderings of the starring's vengeful psyche. The motion picture was well written/produced/directed by Ti West. He is a notorious writer and director known for "Pearl" (2022), "X" (2022) and "The Innkeepers" (2011). And also directed "Cabin fever 2: The spring fever" (2009) but after extensive re-editing and re-shooting of by the producers of this film, West requested to have his name removed from the movie and replaced with the popular pseudonym Alan Smithee; since he was not a member of the DGA his request was denied by the producers and he remains credited as the film's director. And he has directed several episodes of notorious television series, such as: ¨Wayward Pines¨, ¨Scream¨,¨Soundtrack¨, The Resident¨, ¨Chambers¨, ¨The passage¨, ¨The Exorcist¨, ¨Outcast¨, ¨South of Hell¨. ¨In a Valley of Violence¨rating : 6/10. The flick will appeal Western genre enthusiasts and Ethan Hawke fans.

What a lousy B movie. The screenplay could never be worse. The scenario and the plot both failed miserably. The dialog also felt wooden and unnatural. The characters in it all looked funny and out of place. There's nothing you could help making this movie even worth paying more attention. Two young women wearing nicely custom made dresses in a middle of nowhere deserted town, running a hotel without any help? The whole on-going of the story simply felt hollow and awkward to watch, panned out to nowhere. The gunfight in the street looked even more funny than you'd have usually seen. A cartoon-like preacher is totally unnecessary. A run-down dead town with population under 20 still got a grocery store, a bar, a hotel, and the males were all white trash thugs reigned by a crippled Marshall...blah, blah and blah.

I have to tell you guys that this movie still worth watching. The only reason is that GREAT DOG. It's a SHE if you buy those guys in the movie called it. Her acting was so great and would even make a not-a-dog-loving guy like me fall in love with her. The dog's I.Q. obviously is higher than 60% of the human population on this planet. What a great dog!!!! Other than the dog, there's nothing worth watching in this movie. This dog was the only shinning and bright spot in it.

(The title of this review in honor of the 1995 Sam Raimi flick "The Quick and the Dead," yet another director who decided to take the Italian Western genre out for a spin, wind her up, and see what she can do.)

Now it is Ti West's turn at bat, a director known for "fringe" pictures but, to be fair, this type of film probably qualifies as fringe too.

Although a great many directors (including, believe it or not, the great Tarantino and even Eastwood himself) have taken on the challenge of this genre, the truth is that Sergio Leone -- the man who invented the category -- is the only director in history to have fully mastered it.

(Have seen the Man With No Name trilogy a half-dozen times so far, and I am not done yet.)

Which does not mean -- as the other reviewers have already noted -- that the attempt, even if it falls short a mite, cannot be fun.

And this movie definitely qualifies as fun.

Hawke is a great choice, at the same time skittish, taciturn, and yet also strangely dangerous.

Travolta will always be Travolta. He has been playing the same role since Kotter, and audiences never get bored.

The most fun is watching Taissa Farmiga chew up the furniture. Clearly the young lady wants to show the world that she has her sister's acting chops, so she does not merely enter a scene, she attacks it and wrestles it to the ground.

In different circumstances, this strange brew might have missed the mark. But it didn't. Clearly West's main goal was to entertain.

And that is exactly what he did.

This film tells the story of a lone man who travels around with his dog in the cowboy country. The lone man stumbles upon a town where the son of the marshal picks a fight with him, leading to a series of bloody revenges.

"In a Valley of Violence" has a very simple and linear plot. The lone man is aggravated, there is revenge then more counter-revenge. The simplicity of the plot means that the pace is quite slow. I find the first half rather uneventful and lacks excitement. The second half picks up and is much better. I like Ethan Hawke's calm character, standing up to the son of the marshal, who is the local bully. The local bully evokes disgust as he is very unlikable.

I am not usually a fan of Western films, but "In a Valley of Violence" is alright to watch.