Director: Brent Christy
Writer: Shea Sizemore (Screenplay)
Starring: Neal McDonough, Steven R McQueen, Casper Van Dien, Annabeth Gish, Gregory Cruz, Greg Perrow
Plot: After fighting in the Civil War, two Union Army buddies find themselves on opposite sides of the law with the post-war peace at risk.
Runtime: 1 Hour 24 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Dull Western
Story: The Warrant starts in 1864 during the Civil War, John Breaker (McDonough) and his son Cal (McQueen) fought on the union side, next to a more aggressive soldier The Saint (Van Dien). After the war in 1869, John is a sheriff in a small town, where his ways have caused problems in the past.
When Cal now a US Marshal comes back to his father for help in tracking down The Saint, the memories of the war come back, with the need to stop the deadly outlaw before they get caught in the crossfire.
Thoughts on The Warrant
Characters – John Breaker was one of the best soldiers in the Civil War, he fought with honour, becoming an example to his son, who fought next to him, he has become a local sheriff post-war and now he must work with his son again to track down a deadly outlaw and former friend. Cal is John’s son, he is a US Marshall, traveling around hunting down the outlaws of America, turning to his father for the latest bounty. The Saint is notorious outlaw that once fought alongside the Breakers, he has built a gang which is now caught the attention of the government and needs to be stopped once and for all.
Performances – Neal McDonough does struggle in the leading role, a position he would normal perform with ease in, it is in fact Casper Van Dien you want to watch the most, with his scenery chewing performance.
Story – The story here follows a father and son who fought together in the civil war now needing to work together to hunt down a fellow soldier who has become a notorious outlaw. When you type in western story in google, you will without any doubt find this generic idea for a story, offering nothing fresh and ending up feeling flat and uninspiring, we get nothing we haven’t seen before and a story that feels more like a stronger episode of a western TV show.
Western – This is everything western without being anything we haven’t seen before.
Settings – The film uses the post-war landscape to show how the rebuilding had happened, but the actions were still violent, it could have been any woodland area.
Scene of the Movie – The Saint getting what he wants.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The flat story.
Final Thoughts – This is a flat western that brings nothing new to the table and ends up feeling flat throughout the film.
Overall: Flat Western.
