Director: J. Lee Thompson
Starring: Charles Bronson, Trish Van Devere, John Ireland
Running Time: 91 minutes
Synopsis: In Denver, a shotgun-wielding assassin murders all the wives and children of Orville Beecham, a member of the Mormon community. Newspaper reporter Garrett Smith (Charles Bronson) starts to investigate and tracks down Orville's father Willis (Jeff Corey). He leads a secretive offshoot sect, and is quick to blame the slaughter on his estranged brother Zenas (John Ireland). Garrett travels to a remote county where Zenas owns a large farm, and teams up with local reporter Jastra (Trish Van Devere) to uncover an entrenched family feud and a vicious fight for land control.
What Works Well: The big sky Colorado settings are attractive, and the story is rich with potential: an isolated religious sect, an intense brotherly rivalry, and powerful men-in-suits dabbling in fracking and seeking control of precious water sources. In a change of pace and despite the high body count, Charles Bronson patiently investigates and asks questions to solve a mystery, leaving most (but not all) of the violence to others. The supporting cast is invested, and a car chase involving a couple of large trucks is adequately staged.
What Does Not Work As Well: The plot holes are large, a lot of the dialogue is straight from the first draft, the editing is often askew, and most of the acting is over-animated. A parallel story about a police chief running for mayor and being funded by business interests is a clear second-best compared to the Beecham family turmoil. The climax retreats from the breathtaking open country and into the expediency of a poorly conceived whodunnit, populated by less interesting characters and throttled by insufficient context.
Key Quote:
No comments:
Post a Comment
We welcome reader comments about this post.