6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Ole Boys get their butts whupped by Val Kilmer, December 19, 2008
With a few pages from the Rambo film "First Blood," Val Kilmer as ex-Marine and Gulf War veteran "Spooky" MacPherson arrives at the border town of New Lago, in search of his USMC buddy who needs help building his new home in the nearby town of New Hope. Kilmer gets rousted by the Sheriff and his gang of red-neck deputies employed by the megalomaniac John Rhodes (played by Gary Cole - Midnight Caller, Talladega Nights, In The Line Of Fire, Pineapple Express) of Halicorp (a not-so-subtle liberal shot at the Halliburton Corp.) who seems to own the town and its environs; and who also belong to the "United Borders" force (another not-to-subtle shot at the "Minutemen" organization).
Anyway, to make a long story short. MacPherson is arrested, "washed down" (a la First Blood) and then the fun begins when the deputies assault him in his cell later that night. He of course escapes, kicking their butts in the process and then leads the bumbling red-necks on a car chase (he's in one of the deputies cars) which ends with him being shot over a small cliff. Oh, by the way, he suffers PTSD, which in a way, helps him survive and escape.
Well, of course he survives (we later learn he was wearing the body armor of one of the deputies) to be rescued and put up in a small Mexican village by Joanna (Jennifer Esposito - Crash, Related, Samantha Who?) who has been taken care of by the evil Mr. Rhodes. She wants MacPherson to bring down Rhodes. After telling her he's not the man to do it, she shows him the video tape of his friend and families murder.
After that, it's Hell on Earth for Rhodes and all his flunkies. Which concludes in an ambush, sniping and expertly aimed gunfire from semi-auto pistols by MacPherson with the help of one of the deputies (the one who shot him over the cliff) who just happened to be the brother of Joanna.
Very predictable plot after the first 15 minutes. But still an enjoyable kick-butt movie. Don't take this movie seriously. Yes, there's a message about Red-Neck racism, Illegal Aliens, The Minutemen, and the Halliburton Corp. But hey, it's a movie, and whether you take offense to it or agree with its politicized message, don't let it spoil your enjoying this film.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
It's Not a Conspiracy!, April 17, 2008
This movie vanished without a trace--but it's not a conspiracy. It's just no blockbuster. Adding to what has already been written above: Kilmer plays "MacPherson", an Iraq war veteran (I wasn't even sure which Iraq war he was in, but does it really matter? Presumably it was the latest one). His unit gets hit by an explosive device in a particularly nasty fashion, a bunch of men die and others are badly injured. He and another man spend months recuperating and become best friends. He returns home (somewhere in CA I think) and has PTSD. Friend keeps bugging him to come down to AZ. Finally he goes down, only to find said friend gone, and nobody admits to having heard of him, or that his address even existed. Meanwhile the only news in this 2-bit town is all the new construction going on by--like the man above said--Halicorp. Yes the bad guy is sort of a cross between Cheney and Erik Prince or something. He's virulently xenophobic but there must be more than that going on in his plans (exactly what is never quite made clear) because his construction project seems pretty big.
Well this really isn't much of an action film--it starts slowly and then--well kinda stays slow because Val Kilmer just isn't an action hero anyhow. The best we get is some closeups of his face changing emotion as he somehow transforms from a PTSD wracked vet going nowhere, to a man with a mission again--to figure out what happened to his friend--and then, to pay back a debt of gratitude to him. Gary Cole plays the villain "Rhodes". Greg Serano plays "Miguel", Kilmer's wartime buddy. Jennifer Esposito plays the romantic interest. The music isn't too bad. If you watch this with zero expectations, it's not too bad a film...
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Stupid movie, September 6, 2008
This movie sucks. Probably one of Kilmer's worst roles ever. There are absolutely no redeeming qualities to be found here.
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