Oh dear, it seems like Jonah Hex was dead in the water before the cameras started rolling. For one it was written by the incompetent duo of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor and was slated to be directed by them too. What makes Neveldine and Taylor incompetent you may ask, well they both wrote and directed two stinking piles of crap, namely Gamer and Crank: High Voltage. Both films had huge possibilities but were bludgeoned to death through Neveldine and Taylor’s inability to see see past their own petty desires to push as many boundaries as they can, whilst at the same time forgetting that they are supposed to be telling a coherent story.
I’m imagining that Hex was – at least in their eyes – going to be an R-rtaed affair, that would at least give reason for the casting of Megan Fox, but Warners – I’m assuming – wanted a more family friendly affair which probably lead to the two imbeciles standing down and Warners asking former Pixar animator Jimmy Hayward take up the reigns.
Sadly however, Warners for whatever reason decided to keep Neveldine and Taylor’s screenplay resulting in a nonsensical story that is only saved from total ridicule by Josh Brolin’s interpretation of the lead character.
Though this supernatural tale does have it’s high notes – when the action kicks in and the music starts slamming out the decibels, it’s almost possible to get lost in the film. Sadly the action scenes are two few and far between.
The usually welcome John Malkovich seems to have lost the will to act in Jonah Hex, playing the villain without much passion, doing nothing more than making Megan Fox look like a credible actor by comparison.
There are some positives to the BluRay release, the aforementioned soundtrack kicks a fair thump through my Alto studio monitors, and the crisp Hi-Def picture manages to make Brolin’s scar-faced grin all the more menacing – and slightly cheesy.
Other than that, there’s not much here unless you’re a fan of weird wild west films and Josh Brolin. FILMGUIDE rating: Reviewed by: Jonathan
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