JONAH HEX Review

'Jonah Hex' knows what kind of movie it is and isn't all that afraid of flaunting it. It is fast, action oriented and for the most part...pretty fun. While at the same time it represents what is wrong with hollywood at the moment. They are onto something here, a western super hero, a rough and raw climate with a likeable yet non traditional protagonist. Its all good so far and the film looks beautiful, the color palette is especially vibrant, but where it fails is in its story. There could be some grand drama and acting here, you have Josh Brolin and John Malkovich for heavens sake, they know what they are doing and they understand what kind of film they are in, but instead of being a fun summer film with a brain as well this cut of 'Jonah Hex' hits the points of every revenge tale we've ever seen and it sticks with that. As for Megan Fox, she is being over-credited here. Malkovich easily should have made the poster before her, but there is no need to complain, Fox is not in the movie all that much and in my mind could easily be cut from the film entirely. In fact it might have been better for the film, cut Fox and give Hex's backstory more attention. We are cheated and rushed through the process that brought Hex to become the man he is today and that in itself could have been a much better film. If the studio really believed they had a good film and wanted to bank on some sequels they would have gone this route of giving Hex's origin story its own film and making its sequels better versions of what we have been given here. Clearly they dont though, and if they don't why do they expect us to even care about these outlaws? I hate that this could have been so much better, I wish Brolin could have used his pull to upgrade the credibility Jonah Hex might have, instead he is another movie that underwhelms in summer 2010 and a laughing stock at the box office.