10 Jan The Old Way Review

THE OLD WAY

dir. Brett Donowho, starring Nic Cage, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, and Noah Le Gros

Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage stars in his first-ever Western as Colton Briggs, a cold-blooded gunslinger turned respectable family man. When an outlaw and his gang put Colton and his family in peril, Colton is forced to take up arms with an unlikely partner — his 12-year-old daughter in this action-filled film that builds toward its fateful showdown with pulse-pounding suspense.

Put bluntly, The Old Way is a poor man’s Unforgiven mixed with an even poorer man’s Lone Wolf and Cub. The old, grizzled gunslinger, calmed by a woman, who reverts back to his predatory instincts one last time takes the best parts of the Clint Eastwood classic and rehashes them as an underbaked, underdeveloped story that fails to entertain outside of a passing glance while the viewer scrolls through their phone on a Sunday afternoon. While the inciting incident has become something of a problematic trope within fiction, in this film, the relationship between Colton Briggs and his wife Ruth is almost nonexistent. Given exactly one (weakly written) scene to establish and examine the love the two have for each other, a fiery motivation which could lead a person to revert back to a more primal phase of their life, the film bungles the singular opportunity it gave itself, making for poor storytelling.

The Old Way stars Nicolas Cage as Colton Briggs, a former gunfighter turned gentled husband. After the success of the deeply emotional Pig and the raucously funny Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, it seemed like Cage was poised for a mighty comeback to prestige acting. This is regrettably not the case here. In Old Way, Cage’s attempt a being a weathered former gunslinger comes across as unbelievable, almost cartoonish. Hitting his marks and delivering his lines is the most the viewer can expect from Cage in this movie.

On the other side of the things, Noah Le Gros plays James McAllister, the man leading the gang behind the murder of Briggs’ wife with more sinister plans up his sleeve. Le Gros plays McAllister with a villainous glee, charming in a way, as he enacts his revenge he’s waited years for. Without a hint of actual menace or threat to him, McAllister is just a guy who wants to set his world right by his eyes and enjoys the company of his posse while doing so. Le Gros’ jovial, laid back nature is a refreshing addition to an otherwise bland story rife with lackluster acting.

Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Brooke, Riggs’ daughter, is also manages to steal a few scenes, which was, admittedly, a low bar to clear. Still, Armstrong infuses Brooke with a bit of spice as she joins her father in the hunt for McAllister and his gang. Her quiet determination, when mixed with her sassy nature, make for a few humorous scenes with Cage and Armstrong having decent chemistry.

Directed by Brett Donowho, The Old Way’s problem isn’t its direction. Donowho does what he can with the thin material, delivering a number of visually impressive establishing shots of the open frontier keeping in the spirit of the genre. Although the film contains a few questionable edits that disrupt the pacing, for the most part the movie glides along at a decent clip, propelling the story to its inevitable and all-too-predictable ending. The lifeless screenplay, written by Carl W. Lucas, reads like an artificial intelligence’s idea of what the Western genre is: a person seeking revenge for a past transgression, settled by a shootout in a tiny, dusty town at high noon. While the genre has delivered many a movie with that premise that has transcended being just a great Western into being categorized as a great film, The Old Way is sadly not one of these films. The screenplay is, surprisingly, not without its merits though. Near the end of the first act, the town’s sheriff investigating the murder of Briggs’ wife delivers a short but impactful monologue to Briggs about the futility of vengeance and the need to further develop civility in the new world.

Overall, The Old Way delivers nothing new or exciting, nor does it elevate the Western genre in any meaningful way. A standard, rote story that fails to take any risks or deviate from its straightforward storytelling; the 95 runtime is a sweet blessing. Hindered by a hammy screenplay that borrows from some of the greats without adding its own flavor makes for a cliched bye-the-numbers story that came a dime a dozen in the 1950s. A role unsuited to the talents of Nic Cage, his wooden performance is only slightly balanced by the gleeful nature of Noah Le Gros. Saved mostly due to competent directing from Brett Donowho, the story is one that’s quickly forgettable after the end credits. The Old Way hits theaters January 6th and VOD on January 13th.

Review by Darryl Mansel