Black Creek

But this is Cynthia Rothrock here, meaning only one thing truly matters. How badass she is? While this is a western, there are only a handful of shootouts. They are exciting to be certain, but they are not the focus. Rothrock gets to kick, punch, bruise, and batter all the baddies, and it is endlessly entertaining. Her martial arts skills are nothing short of awe-inspiring. It helps that her co-stars/stunt team are reliable as well, delivering excellent and thrilling fights. Möller infuses the choreography with energy and a visceral feel.

Lanier ensures that all of Black Creek is well-paced and fun. He gets good performances out of Rothrock, of course, but the rest of the cast as well. Norton is slimy and fun to hate, clearly having a blast playing a villain through and through. Wilson is charming as ever and plays off Rothrock and Taylor nicely. However, he doesn’t get to showcase his martial arts skills much, which is a minor letdown. While Katie seems to be written for someone younger, Futch does her best to imbue the role with fear and grief. Frechette is over-the-top, which completely works and makes for a fun villain. Cooke is great as the hopeless romantic looking out for himself and his.

“…well-paced and fun.”

Benjy Gaither, Jim Peterik, and Marc Scherer all worked on the score. At first glance, the music cues seem more in line with a dystopian motion picture than a western, but that is the point. The rock-fueled compositions match the road to hell Rose wanders to get what she wants. Robert Clancy, who also produced, and Rothrock were the costume designers, and they did a bang-up job. The costumes appear lived-in and worn, yet remain period-accurate.

Black Creek doesn’t tell an original story, and the twist that comes about an hour in is not much of a surprise. But everything else is pure fun. Rothrock proves why she’s the queen of cinematic combat and acts her heart out. The rest of the cast also does good work. The action is exciting and unfolds quickly and intensely. The score is great and adds a lot of atmosphere. If this is successful, will Mercenaries 2 finally happen?

For more information, visit the official Black Creek site.