The Warrant

As someone who can understand that good westerns died with the 21st century, I didn't mind this movie at all. It had its flaws but it still had everything a western needs. There were a few parts I even found comical.

The Warrant DID have some value - lovely, fine horses, authentic tackle, and riders that could ACTUALLY ride, with backwoods Civil War battles between Confed and Yankee footsoldiers. There was just something a bit phony about the setup, for example Hero, John Breaker, lacked that classical taciturn-ness - opting instead for 1970s "whimsical". But I did like, Steve McQueen, (grandson of his namesake) putting in a most solid performance, a face for the Future.

While the 2020 Western movie "The Warrant" certainly wasn't an outstanding or particularly outstanding movie in the Western genre, then it should be said that it was actually watchable enough for what it turned out to be.

It was nice to see the likes of Neal McDonough and Casper Van Dien in this movie, and I must admit that it was also what drew me in to watching this 2020 movie from writer Shea Sizemore and director Brent Christy. Well, also because the movie's synopsis mentioned the American Civil War.

The storyline in "The Warrant" was fairly straight forward, albeit somewhat on the generic and mundane side of the equation though. It was a shame, because the storyline sort of kept the movie back and prevented it from being more than it turned out to be. But that being as it might be, then the movie wasn't boring or anything, it was actually good enough and adequately entertaining, it just wasn't something that stood out from many other similar Westerns.

Neal McDonough was actually rather nicely cast for the role of John Breaker and he fit the character quite nicely, selling his character in a very believable manner with his performance. And Gregory Cruz, playing Bugle, was also a great addition to the movie, and given his performance I feel it was a shame that he didn't have more on screen time, because he added a lot of flavor to the movie. And while Casper Van Dien wasn't a bad choice for the movie, I just didn't enjoy his performance, walking around with a constant scowl, as if having a case of really bad indigestion.

"The Warrant" definitely is watchable, and it had potential to be something greater than what it turned out to be. However, this particular Western just failed to bring anything outstanding to the genre, and as such it ended up being mundane and ultimately a very forgettable movie.

My rating of the 2020 movie "The Warrant" lands on a mediocre five out of ten stars.

Wasn't a bad movie. Subtitles kept distracting me from the story. Wasn't able to turn them off.

This movie is a throwback to the B-westerns of yesteryear. Trouble is, those old B-westerns are feats of epic cinema compared to this 2020 version of the American Western. And it's a shame, too. Here is THE vehicle that launched many an outstanding and treasured career - Wayne, Mitchum, Stewart, McQueen, Marvin, etc . . . Only these "leading" actors forgot to do their home work. The acting is "Al-Gore-wooden-like" as each actor struggles to strike their best pose to reveal their best side as they regurgitate their canned lines. There is no emotion or meaning to their words - they're just canned lines to be said, not communicated, just said. The Shea Sizemore screenplay makes sense, but it didn't get pulled together. The score adds nothing to the movie. In fact, at times it would be best if there were no score. I lay the quality of this film at the feet of the one to blame - Director Brent Christy. I apparently have never seen a Brent Christy-directed film - I hope I don't again. This film is all over the place, chasing it's tail. Siskel & Ebert - Beware!