Visitors Review

Stephen Whitty (2012-05-24 16:49)

Brolin strides around talking to the dead and destroying things, mostly the good will he garnered after surprising everyone with No Country for Old Men and W.

Tim Evans (2012-05-24 05:09)

There's plenty of bangs for your buck -- check out the dynamite-heavy ambush of a steam locomotive in the opening sequence.

Nell Minow (2012-05-23 22:45)

The lean story-telling works well for its taciturn characters and spare settings, presented by cinematographer Amundsen, and well scored with assistance from Mastodon.

(2012-05-23 10:33)

Jonah Hex

I'll have to admit that I really enjoyed the movie. It's not something that will appeal to everyone but it is a fun movie to watch. The only real complaint I have is that it was too short. I mean 70 minutes? Come on! That is terrible! It didn't really have time to develop the characters the way they should have been. The movie needed at least another 30 minutes. Other than that the movie was fine to me. Yeah, some of the guns were a little out there (like the gatling guns on the saddle and the dual cross bows that shot dynamite) but that is not enough to say the movie is horrible like some reviews I've read. It doesn't go with the comic at all and I kinda hated that at first but after a while I got over it. I watch movies to be entertained and this movie was entertaining to me.

(2012-05-23 10:38)

AW HEX!

It seems that Hollywood has fallen in love with comic book characters once again. Of course Hollywood tends to do so when a genre makes money. The success of BATMAN BEGINS and IRON MAN as well as their sequels has Hollywood realizing fans are willing to pay top dollar when their heroes are done right. But on occasion those in Hollywood still think they can do the original better and anger fans, as was the case with the release of JONAH HEX. But when looked at on its own instead of through fans eyes, this movie isn't all that bad.Josh Brolin stars as the title character; a Confederate soldier who decided there'd been enough bloodshed, killed his best friend/commander and turned in his fellow soldiers so he could get on with his life. Unfortunately his friends father was a maniacal leader named Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich) who didn't take kindly to his son's death of Hex' becoming a traitor. So he burns Hex' wife and child alive while forcing him to watch and brands his face with the letters QT. Hex survives the ordeal, is rescued by Crow Indians and finds himself with a power to communicate with the dead, apparently due to his near death experience. Revenge escapes him though with Turnbull dies in a fire. Hex, scarred for life inside and out, takes on the role of bloody avenger and becomes the deadliest bounty hunter around, taking out those who would prey on the innocent in the most brutal ways possible. And you learn all this within the first 5-10 minutes of the film!But this is a movie that last 81 minutes so we need a story. It turns out that Turnbull never really died. Instead, he's been leading a group of mercenary soldiers who still think there's a chance for the south to rise again. So much so that they've discovered a secret weapon the Union had and never put together and are now gathering the pieces to do so. Once built, cities will be set aflame and their cause will bring about a new order in America.Knowing of his past relationship with Turnbull, President Grant orders Hex be turned lose on his trail and bring Turnbull to justice. In return, Hex will receive a full pardon for any crimes he may have committed as a bounty hunter (like the killing the dirty Sheriff early in the film). Knowing who he's after means Hex cares less about the bounty and more about the man he's pursuing.Just before being "recruited" to set out after Turnbull we get the chance to meet Hex' girlfriend for lack of a better term. Suffice to say that Lilah (Megan Fox) uses her womanly ways to earn a living in the Wild West. Get it? Good. But she has a soft spot for Hex who passes on the chance to be with Lilah forever because anyone who gets close to Hex has a tendency to end up dead.As Hex follows leads to find Turnbull, we get to see his abilities come in handy. He questions a recently deceased member of Turnbull's army and later digs up his old friend, Turnbull's son, to get more information that will bring him closer to the living Turnbull. A final confrontation is sure to follow and it does. To find out if Turnbull is successful in bringing down the USA, you'll have to rent or buy the movie.The movie is beautifully shot and looks great in scene after scene be it the desert, a town out west or an abandoned fort taken over by the bad guys. The special effects, especially when Hex talks to the dead, are top of the line and believable as far as raising the dead goes. And the make up, most notably that used on Hex which involves a sort of hole in the cheek burnt face look, is done to perfection.Brolin does a solid job as Hex, a man tormented by his past, afraid of his present and uncaring of his future. One risen corpse tells him that they're waiting for him down below but it doesn't seem to faze him. He knows he'll get there eventually but he has work to do on Earth first. Fox does little more than look good but for the most part I think her fans expect little more than that. Does she have acting ability? Sure, but when your roles all call for you to be scantily clad or topless (not here) then your acting isn't what most people are looking for. I think she has the talent, let's just hope we see more of that instead of skin next time around. Malkovich does a great job of being the over the top bad guy. Heck, he does a good over the top good guy too (see his performance in RED for that). Here he has little to work with but makes what he has work for him. He's mean as can be and that makes you root more for Hex.On the whole the movie offers an enjoyable night's entertainment, delivering plenty of action and story to boot. While it may not be the movie die hard comic book fans expected, everyone else will have a good time with it. Give it a rent and afterwards you might even consider adding this one to your collection of westerns.One last note. In watching this I was expecting something that was one of the most terrible films ever made. The online world has portrayed this film as deserving of a Golden Turkey award. Viewing it from that perspective made the film far more enjoyable and less a struggle than perhaps a fan of the comic series might have with it. Viewed on its own merits as a piece of fluff entertainment, it does a great job.

(2012-05-23 02:09)

Wow, not what I expected!

So many have mentioned how horrible this movie was. Well sir I don't see it! I was expecting the worst but it was never found, I thought this was a great movie it did what it was intended for, it entertained me. I hope WB makes a sequel and signs the cast back in despite what alot of people have said. I would have given this film 4 stars but so many people were negative I made it 5 just to help make up for the other poor reviews.

(2012-05-21 00:44)

Bad Blu-ray, good movie ...

I don't understand WHY with all the tecnology we have, some news movies still have an unsatisfatory video quality. This is one example. Either in the good shots there are problems. The face of Megan Fox, for example, is completely washed. I look at the fantastic restauration of "2001, A Space Odissey", a 40 years old movie, and I think that the modern filmakers have serious visuals problems. Go to a doctor! Unless you want to kill Blu-ray!

ZombieMcQueen (2012-05-20 13:47)

Not the most intelligent movie, but a stylish enjoyable ride.

Comic book movies are all the rage these days. Ever since Spawn, Bladeand X-Men hit it big in 1997, 1998 and 2000 (respectively), it seemslike one or two or sometimes more new comic-turned-films come out everyyear. This year, we had Iron Man 2, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World,Kick-Ass, Red, Dylan Dog: Dead Of Night, and Jonah Hex. I had justwatched Jonah Hex this morning, after previously putting it off underthe impression that it was going to be a terrible. After all, reviewswere dismal, and most audiences avoided it. The reason for this I thinkis that, like the previously mentioned Kick-Ass, Jonah Hex is anamalgamation of different genres and styles to produce a sort ofcinematic conglomerate.The story revolves around the title character of Jonah Hex, a formersoldier of the Civil War who betrayed his superior officer under moralprinciples. This general, one Quentin Turnbull, in turn scarred Hex forlife and left him near dead. Because of this, Jonah becomes a lonerbounty hunter who discovers he can speak with the dead (this last bitis partly due to the help of Native Americans). After he spends hislife afterwards hunting down thugs under the assurance that Turnbulldied in the last days of the war, he discovers that Turnbull is in factstill alive and planning to annihilate the American populace, and setsout to stop him as both a 'favor' to the country and a personalvendetta.Jonah Hex is supported by two things: Its style and its characters. AsI said before, the film is a combination of styles. Here we have ahealthy chunk of gritty 1960's western, a dose of self-aware comic booksensibility, a bit of modern era actioneering, and a nice touch ofpersonal struggle. At any given time, we can see masked ridersovertaking a steam engine train, men coming to terms with their ownfaults, and heroes shooting dynamite-launching crossbows. It may not beeveryone's cup of tea, and it can be overwhelming to those who don'tlike it or expect it, but I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable.The acting and characters can be said to be both good and poor. Themost impressive acting in the film is by far by lead actor Josh Brolin.Brolin IS Jonah Hex. This is one of those rare performances where youbarely recognize the actor, because they literally become thecharacter. In a sense, Brolin carries the whole movie with hisperformance. Opposite of this are John Malkovich as Turnbull and MeganFox as a sort of love interest for Hex. I found Malkovich to bedisappointing here. He usually gives such an impressive performance,but here he just seems to be going through the motions, barely puttingeffort into it. Megan Fox is arguably the weakest link in the movie,serving no purpose other than brief instances of shoddy eye-candy.Unlike all the other characters, Fox's has no motivation, no reason,and no background. It's as if she was the token girl of the movie. Heracting here is even worse than in the Transformers movies, and that'ssaying something. However, practically all the minor characters,particularly weapon-maker Smith and Irish maniac Burke, are alwayscompetently and usually enjoyably well-performed by their actors.It could be said that Jonah Hex is boring and silly, which was indeedwhat most people said when it came out. Its plot is rather paper thin,often branching off into minor events of introspective scenes forJonah, and it adopts the 'turn-off-your-brain' attitude at certainpoints to make way for action sequences. However, the core of the moviestill rests on the focus of its unique style and Jonah Hex as acharacter, both of which work well. And considering that this is meantmore for entertainment than art, and the entertainment delivers, themovie's flaws are forgivable.Overall, Jonah Hex makes for an enjoyable movie if you go into it withan open mind. The story and execution could have been better, but thenice group of styles and Josh Brolin make up for this. It's nohigh-quality cinematic work to be sure, but it's damn fun and quitecool.

(2012-05-19 15:59)

Absolutely useless

Who green lit this drivel? Who authorized the budget and why were they not stopped by anyone who might have had the merest speculation of a suggestion of a clue how bad this would be? Jonah Hex is a one time Confederate soldier who hunts down evil doers. I'll take that as my mantra if I ever run into the twits who created it. Its only saving grace was that it is only 80 minutes long. I never read Jonah Hex as a kid, I was more into Marvel's `Kid Colt.' I'd heard the lousy reviews but though I can keep an open mind. I liked Zorro and Errol Flynn films, I'll give it a chance. I gave it a chance. Now I want revenge!This is like the darker, art house version of Will Ssmith's Wild, Wild West with the basic plot being President Grant hires a mysterious loner as a government agent to stop a former Confederate general from exacting revenge on the United States with some comic book style super weapon. The films differ from there. Will Smith can enunciate his words. Brolin mumbles so much of his dialogue you're sure he's got a mouth full of pebbles and may have just swallowed two or three. You can't really understand him half the time and after a while you really don't want to. Chasing down the villain and his uber killing machine Brolin seems to roll around the battlefield shrugging off bullets and coming and going like Clint Eastwood's "Preacher" in Pale Rider but with less style.He's supported by Megan Fox who I will admit is a draw. She can't act but I thought her in period clothing as a whore with a heart of...whatever, would be cute. Well she is and it wasn't enough. Her acting is so wooden you expect a couple of Hex' Native American friends to carve her into a totem pole. She's somehow affected a southern drawl for no given reason. Maybe that is what she thinks is acting.The director has sort of art house dream sequences to try and make it look mysterious and other worldly but all it does it clog the screen. Maybe Brolin's explaining it in voice over but his garbled mumbling is so unintelligible he could just as easily be ordering out for a pizza, no anchovies, you can't tell.When the credits finally roll all you can think is that Jonah Hex did the impossible, it actually made Wild Wild West seem not so bad, and yes that includes the parts with Ken Branagh's walking giant spider kill bot.

Matt Brunson (2012-05-19 09:08)

Jonah Hex is one big rush, but not in the positive sense.

(2012-05-18 03:55)

Feeble Adaptation, Despite the Good Acting from the Lead

With the cast including Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox and Michael Fassbender, "Johan Hex" should be a decent action movie. And sure, the film opens with a nice gun fight sequence, but something goes wrong after a while and, despite its short running time (81 minutes including credits), the film soon becomes a long, tedious ride, with a story that doesn't know where it really wants to go.Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) is a post-Civil War bounty hunter with special abilities like (only briefly) resurrecting the dead. The DC Comics anti-hero, whose family was killed by Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich), agrees to work for President Grant (Aidan Quinn) only because the very terrorist plotting against the government is Turnbull himself.The script is by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, known for their works "Crank" and its sequel (as a writer/director team) starring Jason Statham. Perhaps their fast-paced, anything-goes style could bring something new to the weak story. I am afraid Jimmy Hayward (who served as a co-director in "Horton Hears a Who!") is not the best choice for this material. Players are doing their best. Josh Brolin as the vengeful titular hero (with impressive special make-ups) and Michael Fassbender ("Inglourious Basterds") as Burke, Turnbull's sadistic henchman both did outstanding jobs. Even their skillful acting cannot help the entire project, though.

quadrixx (2012-05-17 10:03)

This is just an OK western, its a descent action movie.

OK , i wouldn't say this is a bad movie.in my opinion its just another good western. You got a bad guy ( a goodone if u love John Malkovic ) and a tormented good guy , the hero.which except for his face , does good ...they added some nice special effects. their photography resulted insome nice shots. overall movie has enough descent action. and whodoesn't like this lovely Megan fox.i wouldn't know whats so bad about this movie. except if u are hopingto see another spider-man or hell-boy ... this movie ain't that badseriously , the weapons are looking good ... the scenery is well picked...there's no reason to complain

(2012-05-15 23:13)

Entertaining and Fun

This movie was great, it did what I expected a movie should do....entertain! Don't listen to all those lousy review from comic book nerds. Yes, I was not expecting a good movie while reading some of those other reviews from Amazon, I'm glad I didn't listen to them and took my chance. I have heard of Johnna Hex, first introduce to the name from the Justice League Unlimited animated t.v show. I have never read any of his books, but I expected to be better than that movie with Will Smith, Wild, Wild , West. Let me tell you this, the movie rock, the soundtrack I did not expect it be Metal. Mastodon was the band who created the soundtrack for album. Why not 5 stars instead of 4 well I guess it would have to be a resemblance to one part of the movie the crow, watch it you will understand. Take a chance, have fun watch this movie.

(2012-05-15 11:25)

Save your money

Save your money. If you must see it because you love the trailer, rent it, at least you will not be disappointed by the money you spent going to the theater. I am a big fan of these types of movies and I am telling you, the critics are being way too nice. If I could give it a zero I would. This movie was absolutely horrible.

(2012-05-15 08:36)

GREAT MOVIE - WHY SO MUCH NEGATIVE HYPE??

I put off watching this movie for months because of the bad review's...but a friend watched it and said it was good so I gave it a go.It DID have a story line I followed quite well and it was very entertaining! If you are a comic book geek, I suggest not watching ANY movie based off a comic book because you who read these comic books will never be satisfied.I give it 5 stars because it was a great movie and I want to off-set all the horrible review's as it IS worth watching. AND, Megan Fox - Whoa - is definetly worth watching in ANYTHING:)Don't let all the negative comment's deture you like they did me, you won't feel like you wasted your time as it IS a great flick.

Lisa Schwarzbaum (2012-05-15 00:57)

[Brolin] is done in by the deathless mediocrity of the production, an assemblage of random camera shots, messy editing, redundant scenes, and witless dialogue as haphazardly stitched together as the flesh on Jonah Hex's face.

(2012-05-13 09:41)

Different, but Good...

This review is from: Jonah Hex [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) I was really expecting this movie to be a lot like Will Smith's Wild Wild West, but to my pleasant suprise, it wasnt. Very Dark and Gritty, lots of action, the weapons used were a lil far fetched for a movie set in 1890's, but then again its a DC Comics Based Character right? Very Good Movie would definately go see the sequel at the theater (if they ever make one.).Dan.

Saad Khan (2012-05-12 21:56)

Just trash it even watching Megan Fox won't help in tolerating this movie.

JONAH HEX – TRASH IT ( C ) Jonah Hex is as mediocre as it looked in itspromos. I think Casting Josh Brolin as the Jonah Hex was a mistake. Idon't get it the makers want the youth to relate to the movies likeJonah Hex and The Wolfman or even Solomon Kane. But what they do wrongis that they cast old actors in the lead roles who are not intriguingenough to attract audiences whether boys or girls or anyone. BonecioDel Toro in the Wolfman was a Wrong choice so as James Purefoy inSolomon Kane and now Josh Brolin in Jonah Hex. Though all these actorsare veteran in their own place but in these movies someone charmingeven old like Daniel Craig, Robert Downey Jr. or Christian Bale wouldhave been suited. These three actors worked well for their franchisebecause they already had a following of people who loved their previouswork, even Robert Downey Jr. did some pretty cool work in his youth.Anyway let's discuss Jonah hex, well the movie is really fast and it'shard to relate or digest the characters. Most of the times so manycharacters are thrown at your face that it hard to keep up with what'sactually happening around. Josh Brolin did a fine job as an actor buthe couldn't save the sinking movie. Megan Fox is Hot everyone knows itand she just came and said her line inconvincibly every time (SorryBabe). Michael Fassbender was wasted. C'mon, I couldn't believe thatthey would waste such talented actor like him in such an insignificantcharacter. John Malkovich is a fine actor. Overall it lakes everythingwhat a good action movie requires, a soul and a mind boggling action.Just trash it even watching Megan Fox won't help in tolerating thismovie.

pdstore-7-136030 (2012-05-12 05:14)

Did what it said on the tin

For all the people who went to see this film, regurgitated the entireplot as a review, and then rated it as 1 star: here's some advice. Ifyou don't like steam punk fantasy westerns, don't go and see them.I watched this film on DVD with three friends, we all play theDeadlands role playing game, therefore we are familiar with the genreof horror/steam-punk Westerns. The film fulfilled our needs, which wasfor an intellectually undemanding movie to watch after a hard day. Onthe other hand I may come to regret watching it since every timeanother gadget was revealed there was a chorus of 'Can I have one ofthose?'The CGI was good which is to say that it didn't jar. A couple of'knowing lines of dialogue are hiding in there, but not too many tospoil the flow of the film.Watch the film for what it is an undemanding ninety minutes of fun inan somewhat niche setting.

Brad Miska (2012-05-11 21:01)

There's just nothing there; JONAH HEX is soulless.