The Magnificent Hasbeens…
Director Roel Reiné, king of straight-to-DVD schlock, is certainly capable of knocking out a watchable film, and, I’d have to say, he’s upped his game with this Western/Fantasy fare. I can’t say I was taken with a lot of his movies, The Marine 2 and Death Race 2, to name but a pair. I did, however, kinda like his last effort, 12 Rounds: Reloaded, and now Dead in Tombstone. It’s far for an epic Western flick, but it is something you can tune into, and if Westerns are your thing, then you should definitely get lots out of this.
- Dead in Tombstone
- Directed by
Roel Reiné - Cast
Danny Trejo, Mickey Rourke, Anthony Michael Hall - DVD Release Date
22 October 2013 - Ed’s Grade: C+
Starring Danny Trejo, Mickey Rourke and Anthony Michael Hall, Dead in Tombstone, is not what you would call original, with nods to the Clint Eastwood classic, Pale Rider, where we see a wronged man, come back from the dead, unrecognised by his killers (I’m pretty sure Danny Trejo’s mug, isn’t forgotten that easily), then takes his revenge. Even so, it isn’t a tale that’s been done-to-death, and, therefore, interesting enough, to warrant a fresh attempt. Danny Trejo (Guerrero), is good when in the right sort of film, and he was certainly adequate in this flick, and even the now, flat acting by the once outstanding Mickey Rourke (The Blacksmith), was pretty much acceptable. The actor I liked the most in Dead in Tombstone, was Anthony Michael Hall, and being of a similar age to Hall, I still respect his style. I can still picture him in Weird Science, The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles, particularly Weird Science. Hall looked like he enjoyed playing the bad guy, and no wonder, with a cool name like Red Cavanaugh.
The premise; Red Cavanaugh is in prison, when he overhears the sheriff of a small town, talk about gold being stored in the safe. His half brother Guerrero, runs with a gang of killers, and when Red tells them about the Gold, they quickly decide to go after it. After successfully getting their hands on the gold, Red turns on his brother Guerrero, but the Devil/Blacksmith/Rourke has other plans for Guerrero. The bandit strikes a deal with the Blacksmith, promising six souls for his, but he must do it within a certain time, or the deal’s off.
The cinematography was pretty good, with loads of slo-mo, and cool shoot-outs being edited in quite well. The direction was also not bad either, but the overall film lacked in something to give it an edge, over other films of this type. That said, it’s still well worth watching, if for no other reason, than seeing a hot chick dressed on cowboy attire. I still get hot under the collar, thinking about Oscar-nominated Sharon Stone, in The Quick and the Dead. Said hot chick, is played by the sexy Dina Meyer (Starship Troopers, Saw).
Review by Ed Blackadder, Lead Entertainment Writer
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