JonahHex

Jonah Hex (2010)

I’m a 27-year-old male, and like most people my age, I enjoy a good western. I’m a huge Sergio Leone spaghetti western fan, loved the Wild Bunch, Tombstone, The Unforgiven, High Plains Drifter, the Deadwood HBO series, Pale Rider, and the two Mel Gibson westerns, Maverick and The Road Warrior. I know, The Road Warrior isn’t a western in the traditional sense, with saloons and horses and all, but re-watch it, and you’ll see director George Miller re-inventing the genre with a post-apocalyptic twist.

Over the years, I’ve also read a lot of comic books. Western comic books are few and far between anymore, and have been for quite some time. But you’ve got to hand it to ol’ Jonah; he keeps coming back like bad credit. The character has even been the focus of an episode of Batman: The Animated Series. I’ve read the first volume of the DC Showcase Jonah Hex book, and a decent chunk of the other runs the character has had in print over the years, and when I found out the film was actually going to be made with Josh Brolin as Mr. Hex, I was thrilled.

One of my biggest complaints about comic book films of late is the need to constantly re-tell the origin of the character the movie is about. I know how Spider-Man became Spider-Man, I know how Batman became Batman, and I sure as bloody well know how Superman became Superman, so stop telling me. Or at least truncate it so I don’t have to waste 45 minutes re-learning what I already know.

Jonah Hex doesn’t waste time getting past all that into the thick of the story, and I applaud it for that. In the opening of the film, John Malkovich’s character (whose name escapes me because I watched it in the theater last night and couldn’t take notes) is extracting revenge on Jonah for taking everything he loves by taking everything Jonah loves. Tied to a cross in his front yard, Jonah is forced to watch as his home is burned down with his wife and son inside. To add insult to injury, he’s branded on his right cheek so he’ll look in the mirror and never forget who did that to him.

The credits roll, and in comic panels its explained that Malkovich died in a hotel fire, so Jonah couldn’t get his revenge, and starts bounty hunting. Boom! Origin done! Five minutes and we know who we’re watching! After we see a few more minutes and find out how much of a tough hombre Jonah really is, he finds out that Malkovich is in fact still alive and has plans on crushing post-Civil War America with a ‘Nation Killer’ weapon. Drafted by the government, our hero is on the job.

I do have two complaints with the film. Number one, out of all the Jonah Hex comics I’ve read, I don’t remember him being able to talk to the dead and gather information. Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, but I can’t recall anything of that nature happening. It doesn’t detract from the story really, but it brings in the supernatural where it doesn’t fit quite so naturally.

The other complaint is Megan Fox. Her character, Lilah, serves no purpose in the film. She’s of course the saloon whore (who manages to wear make-up, bathe, and do her hair everyday) Jonah visits from time to time, and wants to run away with him, but to the film’s credit, she isn’t a love interest. Jonah does care about her, but doesn’t want to have much to do with her outside of paying for sex. And of course she gets kidnapped at the start of the third act so there’s a little bit of an emotional pull during the final showdown. But she could have been written out totally.

Those complaints aside, I enjoyed the movie a great deal. It gave me what I wanted and didn’t linger too long on non-essential information. In a month’s time, I doubt anyone will remember this film, unless it airs on cable as a two hour chunk of filler. I do find that sad, since it was able to surprise me in a few spots and was a great little summer popcorn flick.

3 out of 4

reviewed by Seth Moore