While the plot is undeniably moronic, the whiplash pacing and Josh Brolin’s tongue-in-cheek performance make it bearable.
Word-of-mouth and a frigid box-office reception gave me an obvious clue that 2010’s Jonah Hex should be a terrible movie. Based on DC Comics’ long-running western series and featuring an excellent cast and an interesting premise, I was surprised that it flopped. I had no knowledge of the comic series or the character but decided put the bad reviews aside and watch it anyway.
Josh Brolin plays Jonah Hex, a former Confederate soldier who has a giant scar on his face, the ability to speak to the dead, and, seemingly, cannot be killed. He’s seeking revenge against one Colonel Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich.) Turnbull killed Hex’s family in retaliation for Hex’s disobedience of an order and the subsequent death of his own son. For eye candy, Megan Fox plays a prostitute named Lilah. That’s all I will tell you. The film runs a mere 81 minutes and summarizing the plot feels like a spoiler because there are literally zero surprises in this movie. It’s pretty obvious that there was originally more to this film than what ended up in the final cut.
The script is so predictable I could (and did) utter characters’ lines out loud before they said them. The plot mechanics are simple and the amount of exposition via voice-over narration is laughable. Jonah Hex’s ability to speak to the dead — which was added to the character exclusively for this film — is a lazy writing crutch that the script leans on a few too many times. Although, it does make for some nifty special effects.
That said, I didn’t hate Jonah Hex. I enjoyed its mash-up of the western and fantasy genres. While the plot is undeniably moronic, the whiplash pacing and Josh Brolin’s tongue-in-cheek performance make it bearable. I could spend a long time pointing out all of the factual inaccuracies but this is a comic book movie. And, as such, I can’t really fault it for being a bit outlandish. None of it makes a lick of sense but as the credits rolled, I found myself at least somewhat entertained. I expected a terrible movie and got a mediocre one instead. I’m okay with that.
2.5 out of 5.0 stars
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