This movie has its moments, but overall I would say that it's just OK.
Being a spaghetti western fan, I couldn't help but want to see this movie after reading its reviews on the IMDb, but after watching the film, I discovered that its relevance to the spaghetti western genre has been greatly overstated.
The best thing about this movie is the opening credits and theme song. The first half of the song includes a recognizable melody from the theme of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," but changes the song enough to make it something almost entirely new. Then it breaks off into another great spaghetti western style tune which I didn't recognize any part of. The animated opening credits reminded me of the ones from "Days of Wrath" (aka "Day of Anger"), which have always been my favorite. After hearing and viewing this awesome beginning, I was expecting to be blown away by this movie. Unfortunately, the spectacular opening and the film itself are a mismatch, creating expectations that are not met.
The rest of the music score bears very little similarity to those stylish songs that drive the great spaghetti westerns. The music is pretty dull for the most part, and sounds like what you might expect from a recent Hollywood western.
The story itself is interesting enough to watch, but doesn't stand out as being unique or groundbreaking among the tons of other more or less pretentious art house films that have been created. It's a story about a broken family, and a boy's desire to connect with his grandfather. Real exciting stuff (I'm being sarcastic, of course).
The pacing of the movie could have been better, and the first two-thirds of the film goes by pretty slowly. This story should have been told in 90 minutes rather than 120. There are some funny scenes, especially the ones that occur in the western theme park, some eccentric western characters, and a stunningly beautiful naked woman. The action and comedy contain elements from the old westerns, but the movie doesn't emphasize the "spaghetti" enough. I think fans of Hollywood westerns may actually be more satisfied with this film than people who are expecting an homage to spaghetti westerns.
I almost bought this movie, but ended up renting it instead and was glad I did because, although it is interesting enough to watch once, it's not worth the cost of buying.
Being a spaghetti western fan, I couldn't help but want to see this movie after reading its reviews on the IMDb, but after watching the film, I discovered that its relevance to the spaghetti western genre has been greatly overstated.
The best thing about this movie is the opening credits and theme song. The first half of the song includes a recognizable melody from the theme of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," but changes the song enough to make it something almost entirely new. Then it breaks off into another great spaghetti western style tune which I didn't recognize any part of. The animated opening credits reminded me of the ones from "Days of Wrath" (aka "Day of Anger"), which have always been my favorite. After hearing and viewing this awesome beginning, I was expecting to be blown away by this movie. Unfortunately, the spectacular opening and the film itself are a mismatch, creating expectations that are not met.
The rest of the music score bears very little similarity to those stylish songs that drive the great spaghetti westerns. The music is pretty dull for the most part, and sounds like what you might expect from a recent Hollywood western.
The story itself is interesting enough to watch, but doesn't stand out as being unique or groundbreaking among the tons of other more or less pretentious art house films that have been created. It's a story about a broken family, and a boy's desire to connect with his grandfather. Real exciting stuff (I'm being sarcastic, of course).
The pacing of the movie could have been better, and the first two-thirds of the film goes by pretty slowly. This story should have been told in 90 minutes rather than 120. There are some funny scenes, especially the ones that occur in the western theme park, some eccentric western characters, and a stunningly beautiful naked woman. The action and comedy contain elements from the old westerns, but the movie doesn't emphasize the "spaghetti" enough. I think fans of Hollywood westerns may actually be more satisfied with this film than people who are expecting an homage to spaghetti westerns.
I almost bought this movie, but ended up renting it instead and was glad I did because, although it is interesting enough to watch once, it's not worth the cost of buying.