Gunslingers

This was hot garbage. The only reason I gave it 3 stars is because I could laugh at how ridiculous it was.

• Not too far in from the start, Heather Graham, who is practically a typical southern belle, does some DIY bullet removal on her own leg - no anesthetic, raw fingers deep, and barely even whimpers (so as not to disturb her daughter). She then shows no sign of major injury for the entirety of the film.

• Cage is the absolute worst here, apparently trying to channel both Elvis and James Brown in the most ill-fitting way (even donning anachronistic cross-shaped glasses) and with a voice that's both highly grating and unintelligible. At one point he and a faceless goon lightly tumble to the ground and said goon magically breaks his neck.

• The action mostly consists of the bad and good guys lined up on opposite sides of the street firing wildly at each other with neither group able to hit the broad side of a barn unless it matters, to which you get treated to infinite quick cuts of individual cannon fodder getting shot from unrelated angles.

• The story and rest of the characters don't really matter at all.

I'm not sure if they set out to make a "so bad it's good movie" given the set of, at the very least, recognizable actors, but they definitely succeeded in a making a bad one.

When I saw the cast ensemble for the movie, I have to admit that I was initially somewhat intrigued and impressed. I mean, with the likes of Stephen Dorff, Heather Graham, Nicolas Cage, Tzi Ma, Eric Mabius and Costas Mandylor on the cast list, then you would assume that you would be in for something enjoyable.

But I have to say that writer and director Brian Skiba definitely proved me wrong with "Gunslingers". The storyline in the movie was flaccid, and there just wasn't a whole lot of entertainment value in the movie. I have to say that I sort of zoned out about half way through, and the movie just because something that played mostly in the background.

Even with a cast ensemble that included some good talents and names, the movie failed. Sure, the acting performances were, for the most parts, actually fair, then the movie just proved to be less than mediocre. And not even the sheer amount of gunfights did much to make up for the shortcomings.

Maybe diehard Western fans will be getting a much bigger kick out of watching "Gunslingers" than I did as a casual viewer.

The CGI animated rain was just cringeworthy to look at. But at least it provided a moment of good laughing.

This is not a movie that I will return to watch a second time.

My rating of writer and director Brian Skiba's 2025 movie "Gunslingers" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

I like Dorff. I've enjoyed his work. He just couldn't carry this.

First, Kentucky was not the old west at the turn of that century. Cowboys weren't hanging out in saloons. Missed the mark completely there.

Cage I find to be hit or miss and this was a miss. Not sure exactly what his character he was going for, but the whole thing of retired bad guy returning to his lawless ways is trite, to say the least. Not sure if he was going for an odd Johnny Depp-type character but sorry, this just didn't do it.

Antagonist was a little too over the top for me.

The supporting cast was good, don't get me wrong, but the script was pretty lame for any of them to cut through.

The action was mid level, but there were scenes where it was hard to tell good guys from bad guys, who is shooting who?

I could go on, but...why? Watch this when it's free, I would not recommend paying. Sorry Stephen, I'll buy you a beer and talk about your good roles some day.

I am a big fan of gritty westerns which is what this looked like in the trailers, but it is deinitely not. Within 10 minutes I realized the acting was pretty bad. There were moments of believabilty in the characters but mostly seemed like none of them were rehearsed professionals. I really blame the directing that made the whole story predictable and plodding. The effects were on par with 1970's films; bright red blood, punching sounds. By far the worst I've ever seen of Nicholas Cage. His characterization was ridiculous. So, I gave it 2 stars only because I didn't have pay to see it in a theater.

Thomas Keller is on the run after killing a Rockefeller and has become a most wanted man. He comes across a town filled with wanted men, living a new life of redemption. He is welcomed into the town and treated as their own by the town's leaders. A woman named Val arrives looking for him and it doesn't take long for a battalion to show up for Thomas and claim the bounty. The townspeople stand by their words and a war breaks out between the two party. Does Thomas surrender or the town win the war for survival, forms rest of the story.

For a Western, the film's narrative is too dull and doesn't let the characters have a decent arc. It's just that the main lead arrives at this town and they accept him. There is no space given to establish these supporting characters and the action begins sooner. The action sequences too don't stand out with non-stop gunfight and with no connections felt to these characters, it simply feels dragged. The choice to have that particular accent by Nicolas Cage was definitely questionable and he doesn't get to shine much in his supporting role. Overall, Gunslingers was dead on arrival.