Big Kill Image

Big Kill

By Andrew Emerson | March 19, 2019

Scott Martin’s Big Kill tells the story of Jim (Christoph Sanders), an accountant who works in 19th-century Philadelphia. After his brother writes to him about the wonders of life in the titular Arizona town, Jim decides to travel west to join him; along the way, he also befriends two vagrant gunmen named Jake (Scott Martin) and Travis (Clint Hummel). Upon arriving at Big Kill, however, the three of them discover that Jim’s brother is nowhere to be found—and that the townspeople are all caught in the grip of a sadistic killer named “the Preacher” (Jason Patric).

While many recent Westerns (e.g. last year’s The Sisters Brothers) are defined by their revisionist tone, Big Kill presents itself as a homage to genre classics. The comical opening, for instance, features a chase and confrontation that feel right out of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Towards the end, moreover, the final shoot-outs are shot in a way that recalls the prolonged, unabashedly melodramatic fights in Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns.

“…Jim’s brother is nowhere to be found—and that the townspeople are all caught in the grip of a sadistic killer named ‘the Preacher’”

As nostalgic as these moments might make you feel, however, they can’t compensate for the overall film’s many, many flaws. Aside from being full of holes for one, the plot concludes with a resolution that’s both anticlimactic and predictable. Additionally, the film also has several underdeveloped subplots, most of which end up becoming annoying distractions. And when it comes down to it, the majority of the scenes are simply red herrings – namely, drawn-out conversations that tease at confrontation but ultimately lead nowhere.

In the end, two things prevent Big Kill from being a complete flop. First, Mark Atkins’ cinematography is gorgeous, containing sweeping vistas that would’ve made John Ford proud. And second, although most of the characters are caricatures, several of the actors clearly get a kick out of their roles, particularly Patric. If only the rest of the movie were as entertaining as they are.

Big Kill (2018) Directed by Scott Martin. Written by Scott Martin. Starring Christoph Sanders, Scott Martin, Clint Hummel, Jason Patric, and K.C. Clyde.

2 out of 10

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  1. Quoi de neuf sur Netflix : 19 juin 2019 says:

    […] critiques louant la cinématographie mais disant que dans l’ensemble, il souffre d’un manque d’intrigues engageantes et n’ajoute rien de nouveau au genre qui a connu une résurgence ces dernières […]

  2. Keith Wagner says:

    Terrible movie in every aspect but the scenery. John Ford would spin in his grave

  3. Keith says:

    Guess I am spoiled by real writers and directors like john Ford

  4. ColoCopper says:

    It’s so bad it redefines bad. Corny would be a compliment. Don’t waste your time.

    • Keith says:

      You hit the nail on the head. Guess being 75 years old I still expect a film like a john Ford movie. So far all westerns I have watched on Netflix have been as bad or worse as big kill

  5. Ron Melone says:

    This movie is refreshing from the start, two con man type drifters of no real significance always wearing out their welcome like two little kids always in mischief. Great dialogue simple and comical most times. Great ending with surprise finish of modesty conquering evil. Realistic as to how guns of the old west really were. 9 out of 10 stars on this rarity of westerns.

  6. Rick Richards says:

    Awesome a ride to the glory day of westerns great theme and actors anA+

  7. What's New on Netflix: June 19th, 2019 - News Fashion Blog says:

    […] on Metacritic with critics praising the cinematography but saying that overall, it suffers from a lacking engaging plotlines and not adding anything new to the genre which has seen a resurgence in recent […]

  8. What's New on Netflix: June 19th, 2019 - What's on Netflix says:

    […] on Metacritic with critics praising the cinematography but saying that overall, it suffers from a lacking engaging plotlines and not adding anything new to the genre which has seen a resurgence in recent […]

  9. Reuben says:

    You missed the boat on this one smarty. The many quiet dialogue scenes are to establish character and affinity for these classic western types. The film is intentionally over-stylized in showing filmic tropes, both in character and in plot.

    It is refreshing to see a film where characters, even though each represents a classic western type more so than any unique persona, talk to each other and show sincere emotion. Hard to see the film finding an audience with comic books passing for literature these days, and cgi passing for art.

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