The Butcher

"The Butcher" gets high marks for a high body count, in other words lots of bang bang, but little else. Eric Roberts is his usual dependable quirky self, and it's nice to see Robert Davi and Geoffrey Lewis getting some work. This is however a very shallow movie, with everything revolving around the ultra violent scenes. The whole film has almost zero meaning. Eric Roberts never changes his sport coat throughout the entire movie, and really the movie never changes either. It is nothing more than just another weak plotted shoot em up, with little or no character development. I say avoid unless you need to see a bunch of seldom used actors in a meaningless movie. - MERK

Eric Roberts is a mid level gangster with a gambling problem in this low budget film written and Directed by Jesse V. Johnson. Roberts is actually very compelling in the lead, as a mobster who gets set up. There are many other actors that appear in subsequent Johnson films, like David Keith. The small town feel and characters are two of the strongest elements of the film. As in all Johnson films there is action, betrayal, and violence. There are some elements that need tightening up here as it was an early Johnson film but the seeds of many stronger and later films are here. There are many elements here that show up in Johnson films later and get much more well crafted. I would add another 1/2 a star if you a fan, or aficionado, of Johnson films.

Having followed director Jesse V. Johnson's career since 2002's "The Honorable" it's amazing how quickly he has evolved into a top notch action director in such a relatively short period of time. The man has toiled away and paid his dues so it's nice to see his skill is becoming recognized by his peers, allowing him to recruit some great talent. His 2009 film The Butcher slowly builds up momentum towards a brutal action packed finale. It does so skillfully and all the while remained interesting, unlike say for example "The Kingdom" starring Jaime Foxx which had dull dialog and uninteresting characters for three quarters of the film trusting that the final action packed reel would make up for it (as terrific as it was, it did not). The Butcher on the other hand, has barely a fraction of the budget and fires on all cylinders, well scripted, great leads in Eric Roberts and Robert Davi, excellent cast (including several of the director's "stock" actors such as Keith David, Bokeem Woodbine, and even a cameo by the Pitfighter himself Dominiquie Vandenberg), grade A staged action with superb stunt work, one of the best musical scores I've heard in some time, even a beautiful Dodge Charger and eclectic mix of firearms. Recommended!

I had no expectations for this movie. From the title I guessed it was a B-grade slasher flick of some kind.

What I got was something completely different.

The Butcher is a dark and gritty story about a man with nothing to lose, made in the style of the classic movies of the same kind in 70's.

Eric Roberts is good in the title role and most of the actors do their job quite well.

The action is raw and naked without being over the top and the overall feel and atmosphere is gritty and dirty.

I recommend this film for people who like gangster and action movies from the 70's.

7/10

The Butcher has a decent cast and a promising story line, but fails to deliver due to a crummy script and too unrealistic action scenes.

The wording of the plot outline is indicative of the incoherent bombastic dialogue in this film, it makes practically all actors appear wooden and insincere.

A lot of the budget was thrown at bloody shootouts, but no attention was paid to making them even a little realistic. In most shootouts the henchmen just stand upright blazing away without seeking cover or even actually trying to hit the protagonist. In another shootout the bad guys insist on shooting above the furniture behind which the hero is hiding. Not even film goons are that stupid.

These flaws ruin what otherwise could have been a palatable action film.