There's more to comic books than just superheroes. While tales of cape-wearing crimefighters may be the medium's dominant genre, there's also horror, fantasy, romance, and science fiction to be found at your local comic shop.
And though they are nowhere near as prevalent as they may have been decades ago, Western comics are still around. Among the rare Western characters still in publication is Jonah Hex, a horribly scarred bounty hunter and antihero who has been floating around the DC Comics universe since the '70s.
The creation of writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga, Jonah debuted in 1972, in the tenth issue of what would become Weird Western Comics. He's been around in some form or fashion ever since, but outside of a few appearances in various DC animated projects, the character's media penetration has been practically nil... until recently. Of the multitude of characters in DC's pantheon, Jonah was tapped to star in his own movie. And you know what? He probably should have stayed in comics.
Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) was a soldier in the Confederate army, but was labeled a traitor after going against the orders of his commanding officer, Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich), to save a hospital full of innocent people. Turnbull's son is killed in the process, and swearing revenge, Turnbull murders Jonah's family before scarring his face with a branding iron. Found near death days later by a tribe of Native American mystics, he is nursed back to health but left with the ability to communicate with the dead.
Jonah pursued Turnbull for several years, but gave up after hearing Turnbull had perished in a hotel fire. Since then, he has establishing himself as an unrivaled bounty hunter. However, he may have a second chance at having his own modicum of vengeance. Turnbull turns up alive and well, having robbed a train of a powerful weapon with which he intends to overthrow the government. Once word gets back to Jonah that Turnbull is alive, he readies himself to settle their feud once and for all.
Jonah Hex is a movie that could have been so much better. But instead of the potentially awesome ultra-violent Western tale of revenge that it could have been, we're stuck with some mediocre mess of a movie that feels sloppy and unfinished. It's just a mishmash of scenes with not much of anything to connect them. It's sad, really.
In the director's chair is Jimmy Hayward, whose only prior directorial experience prior to Jonah Hex was the animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears A Who. His work isn't too awfully bad, but it would have been better had the movie didn't seem like it was taken out of his hands during editing. The editing is choppy in more than a few places, and I got the impression that a lot of stuff was chopped out to get a PG-13 rating. (The fact that the movie is barely 80 minutes long, including the end credits, says something.)
The editing makes the movie move along way too fast, which has the side effect of making it hard for anything in the movie to sink in. I'd actually forgotten half of the movie as soon as the credits began rolling. At least it never gets boring, and features some great music by John Powell and thrash metal band Mastodon. Those are plusses, at least.
As far as the script goes, it's nothing short of ludicrous. Written by Crank writer/directors Mark Neveldine and Bryan Taylor, the script is practically all over the place. There are more than a few scenes that have no real bearing on what little plot there actually is. I mean, what was that scene where Jonah coughs up a bird about? And that scene where Jonah and Turnbull are fighting in some kind of dream world of red sand? Is it too much for the movies I watch to make sense?
Last on my list is the acting, which ranges from "not bad" to "forgettable." In the lead role, Josh Brolin is fun and engaging. He growls his way through the movie, channeling his inner badass while delivering his one-liners with conviction.
However, he runs the risk of being upstaged by our villain du jour, John Malkovich. Malkovich is one of those actors you can count on to play a great bad guy, and his appearance in Jonah Hex further shows that. He's a heck of a lot of fun, and the role couldn't have been played any better.
Rounding out the primary members of the cast is Megan Fox, who plays a hooker who's taken a liking to Jonah. The advertising makes her out to be a major part of the movie, but the truth is that she only has about ten or fifteen minutes of screen time. Both Fox and her character are utterly useless here, and the movie would have been better off had both been eliminated. And let's face facts: Fox is just a crappy actress, period.
I've often wondered why Marvel Comics could crank out two or three movies a year, while DC just trotted out Batman every so often. I'd think, "Why can't DC start making movies based on their other properties?" Well, be careful what you wish for, because you may just get it. It thankfully isn't as bad as Steel or Catwoman, but Jonah Hex is a real disappointment. The concept of the Jonah Hex character could make for a truly awesome movie, but what happened? Who can I blame for screwing the movie up? Do I blame the writers? The director? The studio? Sigh... maybe DC should just stick with Batman after all.
Final Rating: **
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