The Old Way

A nice throwback to my favourite genre of movie...the western.

I would love to see a spree of good quality westerns hit the big screen, with The Old Way being much better than most of the westerns released over the last few years.

Cage is Cage except with a little bit more, you can see he's enjoying playing the gunslinger role. The kid, Ryan, gives one of the better child actor performances I've seen, underplaying the sociopath role nicely.

A few more gunfights would have added to the fun but otherwise there was enough to ge my western juices flowing.

Would definiately recommend especially for western fans but don't start comparing it to Josey Wales or The Searchers for example :)

Finally the world is treated to a Nicolas Cage western. It is full of clichés and follows the typical western tropes yet is always engaging.

This may be billed as Nic Cage's first western however Ryan Kiera Armstrong runs off with the full movie. She is exceptional as a Mattie Ross type character who seeks revenge for a loved one. Her chemistry with Cage saves the movie from mediocrity.

There are a few good supporting characters with Noah Le Gros making a decent enough villian (despite not convincing entirely) and Clint Howard playing Eustice, a prophet of doom character, straight out of The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre.

You watch The Old Way and go 'well that's from that movie and from that western' but The Old Way has enough charm (especially in Armstrong) to get it over the line.

Cage has a way of dumbing down of a film which is fine to an extent but you can't help wondering if he was the best choice for the role.

I think there are much more believable actors who would have added a lot more credibility and realism to this film and it may have become a modern classic rather than a one off throw away novelty.

Young Ryan Kiera Armstrong is the real star here and judging by her standard of ability has a good future in acting as long as she keeps her wits about her. I can see why she was chosen for this part.

Overall not a terrible way to pass some time but not a film that you would watch more than once.

This entire production felt like a high-school drama class level, budget and all. Cage basically is sleepwalking his paycheck, but little Ryan Kiera Armstrong steals the spotlight with her charisma and flair for acting. The writing was your typical seen-it-before predictable and cliched revenge Western offering up nothing new for this genre, that felt quickly and lazily written. Some of the dialogue was cheesy to the point of cringe. The directing was weak and lacked any urgency in almost every scene. Even the sets and settings felt cheap and unconvincing, and lacked any authentic Western feel. A little bit of dust and tumbleweed blowing through town would've gone a long way getting to that Western feel. Even the normally comfortable 95 min runtime felt longer with poor pacing and the underwhelming narrative. It's a generous 5/10 from me, all for the young Armstrong's impressive performance.

I was going to review this film positively, and say " Cage occasionally makes a decent film, and this is one of those times."...but then I read the other reviews!

Wow, was I surprised.

I hesitated just for a moment, and decided to soldier on with my own opinion.

I generally agree with most of the reviewers around here, but in this case, I have to go against the largely negative opinion of this film.

No, its not Eastwood's Unforgiven, or any of the other great Westerns.

But, its got its moments, I liked the story flow, and Cage didn't "over-Cage".

I think, if you're into Westerns, its definitely worth a look.

If you like Nick Cage, its worth a look.

Maybe don't look for movie magic...each cage film needs to be judged on its own merits and not against other Cage films (good or bad).