JONAH HEX
(PG-13)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: *1/2 (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The post-Civil War hero from DC Comics who can talk to the dead gets a notorious feature film treatment in “Jonah Hex.” Josh Brolin plays the title role as an ex-soldier whose wife and child were killed by former General Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich). Disfigured and distraught, Jonah Hex becomes a bounty hunter until he discovers Turnbull is alive and planning an act of terrorism on U.S. soil.
WHAT I LIKED
“Jonah Hex” was one of those films that was released this summer that had me thinking, “It can’t be as bad as everyone says it is.” And unlike films like “The Love Guru” and “Gigli,” it wasn’t. I actually enjoyed this movie for the most part.
It’s a quick flick, with a scant 82-minute running time. And sure, it seems rushed at times and repetitive at others, but I wasn’t expecting much. In this respect, it wasn’t bad. Brolin does a decent job bringing the haggard hero to life, and Malkovich plays his standard villain.
There’s some decent action, even if it is put up against a really out-of-place metal soundtrack. Call it my guilty pleasure of 2009, but “Jonah Hex” was silly and fun, and it actually plays decently on home video.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
I’ll let everyone else online complain about “Jonah Hex” because they have plenty to say about it, and I can’t really say they’re wrong. The story is a bit convoluted, the characters aren’t fleshed out very well and the pacing is all over the place. But like I said, I was okay with this for what I was expecting.
The only unforgivable part in this film is the casting of Megan Fox as the pointless and sweaty prostitute who has captured Jonah Hex’s heart. Even after seeing the movie twice, I don’t understand her purpose in this movie beyond showing the actress in a corset… and even then she’s so stanky looking that I can only image that she smells like week-old cheese.
DVD FEATURES
The DVD comes with a few deleted scenes and nothing else, which is sad because a nice selection of bonus features might have persuaded more people to see the film… or at least check out the DVD.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
I think I may have been the only one.