Director: Jimmy Hayward

Writer: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor, William Farmer

DVD and Blu-ray release date: December 27 2010

Studio: Warner Home Video

Number of discs: Available on solo DVD, double disc Triple Play (DVD, Blu-ray and digital copy)

Price: From £7.99-£12.99

Running Time: 81 mins

Certificate: 15

Starring: John Malkovich, Josh Brolin, Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett, Michael Shannon

With so many comic book releases these days it’s no wonder the latest, Jonah Hex, delves into DC comic’s 70s back catalogue. Unfortunately evidence of its troubled production past is easily traceable in the final product; Before hitting the big screen Jonah Hexswitched Crank and Gamer directors, Neveldine and Taylor, to Pixar veteran, Jimmy Hayward with I am Legend’s Francis Lawrence “overseeing” the project.

During the American Civil War after an order Hex didn’t agree with, he betrays his commanding officer, Quentin Turnbull, killing his son in the process. Avenging his son’s death, Turnbull sets fire to Hex’s house, murders his family and brands Hex, leaving him for dead. Indians find Hex and save his life but in doing so kick-start his connection with the other side, allowing him to revive and speak to the dead.

Years later hearing Turnbull has died, Hex becomes a bounty hunter with a price on his head. That is until he discovers that “Terrorista” Turnbull faked his own death and was recently involved in train-jacking, successfully stealing the components to make a “nation killer” weapon. With the president on his side, Hex is paid to hunt down Turnbull and receive a pardon.

Resembling an old skool undertaker escorted by a murder of crows, Josh Brolin plays Hex, a good man driven to violence who’ll pay for unnecessary damages he causes but is essentially a feared badass. With the wisdom of the dead who can see the comings and goings of anyone they knew when alive, Hex is a one man army.

Malkovich is disappointing as his nemesis, Turnbull, although Michael Fassbender playing his right-hand man, Burke, was certainly a good call. The inclusion of Megan Fox as Lilah, a local prostitute sweet on Hex, is frankly pointless and wasted. What little screen time Fox has does nothing to further propel her career and her interest in Hex is entirely unconvincing.

Part spiritual, part western and bizarrely effectively set to a metal soundtrack, Hex’s short running time is to the detriment of the story. Characters feel underdeveloped, actors underused and there is no real sequence of events – just a series of poorly explained and realised happenings. Hex seems to have a laughable knack of being repeatedly rescued by spiritual-healing Indians, a strange scene involving a savage slack-jawed vampire creature fighting in a ring doesn’t fit and the film’s conclusion feels rushed and involves the most implausible ridiculous escape.

The slick opening graphic sequence and interesting concept character hint at the potential for what could have been. Aside from the supernatural element, Jonah Hex is your typical western revenge quest not done very well and dragging in time despite its dwarfed length.

*

Special Features

DVD

  • Deleted scenes

Blu-ray

  • Featurettes, including “The Inside Story of Jonah Hex” and “The Weird Western Tales of Jonah Hex”
  • Digital copy of the movie