Displaying items by tag: Jon Voight

THE LAST GUNFIGHT

US, 2025, 98 minutes, Colour.

Jon Voight, Adam Woodward, Charlotte Vega, Eloise Lovell Anderson, Rade Serbedzija, Daniel Bernhardt, Andy Lister, Sam Symons.

Directed by James Bamford.

A succinct and accurate synopsis from the IMDb:

In a brutal underground tournament, the world's top assassins face off against a rogue crew with a deadly plan: infiltrate the competition, survive the bloodbath, and defeat the mastermind behind it.

While not particularly worth watching for itself, even those who say they enjoyed it do not praise it as a film for plotting, performances, dialogue…

The film is a useful test case for assessing sensibility in watching depictions of violence, in appreciating different sensitivities towards the visualising of violence. The audience watching this underground brutal assassins’ elimination competition, affluent, gambling recklessly, vicious in their response, callously happy, no value in any loss of human life.

In assessing a film like this, it can be said that the “what” of the action is 21^st century equivalent of gladiatorial combat and audience participation. The question of its value and sensitivities is in “how” it is presented. As one reviewer said simply remarked, it is killing for the sake of killing.

Some say they turn their minds off and just watch the action. But, there must be some moment when audiences should not turn their minds off. They are watching violence but they are watching, at times, mindless and merciless brutality – especially in the figure of a man in a clerical cassock, nicknamed The Reverend, giving absolution to victims, condemning those who don’t have the correct faith, praying with the sign of the cross. He symbolises the ugliness of what we are seeing despite the earnestness of the hero, the plotting behind the scenes, some of the characters with friendly and comic touches.

So, given the excess of the setup of the game, assassins killing assassins, graphically shown (although, of course, there are some films with more graphic gory detail), what is the value of watching this kind of action, its potential for coarsening sensitivities?

HIGH GROUND

US, 2025, 91 minutes, Colour.

Charlie Webber, Jon Voight, Katherine McNamara, Henry Thomas, James Oliver Wheatley, Dustin Ingram, Skyler Shaye, Charlotte Weston.

Directed by James Bamford.

High Ground is a county in Colorado. This contemporary action drama plays something like a modern Western combined with gangster action.

The film focuses on a former criminal, Nathaniel, played intensely by Henry Thomas, who has found religion in his illness and has broken from the criminals and is prepared to testify against them. The chief gangster, played by James Oliver Wheatley, intensely, sometimes hyper-intensely malevolent, gathers his thugs to kill the witness. Initially they fail, so Marcus rounds up even more thugs to track down Nathaniel.

He flees to Colorado, is involved in an encounter with the police for speeding and is taken to jail. Always reading and quoting his Bible. And, Marcus and his gang make their way to High Ground, no scruples in killing and one who gets in their way – and they do.

In the meantime, the new sheriff, Jake (Charlie Webber) son of the old sheriff for 35 years, Ezra, played by Jon Voight (who appeared in director, James Bamford’s strange time travel tale, The Man with No Past). He is letting go of the authority, has a huge ranch, comes into town to chat with Rosie at the local. And, there is the eventual romantic interest, Cassie (Katherine McNamara) who proves, early in the piece, that she is an accurate shot.

So, ugly and sinister villains, no scruple in torturing and questioning and then killing the local sheriff whose wife is expecting. No sentiment here. And, a number of people in the town are killed as well as in the local bar.

Jake takes Nathaniel to the ranch for a final siege, Jake, Ezra, Cassie and Nathaniel against a whole range of attackers, shrewdness on the part of the sheriff, and accurate shooting…

Audiences who can sit back and relax at this kind of old-time, B-budget, straight to video kind of action will enjoy it. Bloggers on the IMDb who did not like it felt no restraint in their condemnations!

1. Combination of Western-style, Colorado settings, sheriff’s, prisoners, and gangster vengeance movies?
2. The setting, Colorado, the county, the ranch, the town, the jail, police office, the bar, the surrounding countryside? The musical score?
3. Nathaniel, his character, with the criminals, repenting, the Bible, his illness, shooting his attackers, prepared to witness against the boss, driving away, the speeding, the police, in the jail, the Bible, the reaction of Jake, Sharon, Billy? Researching his identity? Information about Marcus and the criminals?
4. Jake, his character, war service, return, the effect of the war, friendship with Cassie, the shooting and accuracy sequence, his relationship with his father, Ezra and 35 years sheriff, the oldies still thinking of him as sheriff?
5. Life in the town, Rosie and Dan at the bar, the locals, meals and drinks? Cassie and her work? The attraction to Jake?
6. Marcus, his character, the range of henchmen, relentless, to kill Nathaniel, coming to the town, the encounter with Billy, questioning, torture, his saying he was about to be a father, Marcus still killing him? Coming into the town, for the meal, the interrogation, his men outside, filling up the vehicles, shooting the proprietor?
7. The reaction of those in the bar, Rosie, Dan, interrogation, going out, Marcus returning, the confrontation, the shooting? Bashing Rosie?
8. Jake, out in the countryside, finding Billy? Difficulty in communications? Sharon, her role, information? Hiding, Marcus killing her?
9. Jake and Nathaniel, suspicions, the religious dimension, Jake taking him to the ranch? Ezra, in town, the confrontation with Marcus?
10. Cassie, her determination, everybody going to the ranch?
11. The siege of the ranch, tactics, accurate shooting, Ezra wounded, Cassie saving Jake, Nathaniel and the shooting, the confrontation with Marcus, his death?
12. And the happy ending, Cassie and Jake, Rosie and Ezra…?