At the Movies with Fatwayne

Someone must have put a “hex” on poor Jonah judging from the story of his life! This poor man loses his wife and son in a horrible manner while he is forced to watch. He is branded with an iron on his face which he later makes worse by trying to remove the scar with a hot hatchet. He is shot numerous times and is frequently beaten nearly to death. He is also part of the world of the dead since he very nearly crossed over himself. This may not be considered to be a bad thing since he can bring the dead back to life and talk to them but I would just as well not wish to have this “gift.”

Jonah Hex is the story of a post Civil War antihero based on the DC Comics character. This western was filmed in and around the city of New Orleans although you might not be able to recognize it even if you are native to the city. Jonah’s troubles begin when he disobeys his Confederate commanding officer, Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich) who wants to destroy a hospital and all who are in it. In his effort to avert this tragedy he also kills Turnbull’s son. In retaliation, Turnbull seeks out Jonah and ties him to a cross and forces him to witness his wife and child’s death as he burns their house with them inside. Turnbull then brands Jonah’s face with his initials so that he will always remember him and how he took away everything he loved.

Jonah Hex, half crazy with sorrow and hatred, decides to remove the initials branded on his face. To do this he uses a red hot hatched and manages to make a bad situation much worse. He is on the verge of death when Indians find him and save his life. His near death experience leaves him with more than a hideous scar as he also can communicate with the dead by touching their corpses. Jonah has a presence in both the world of the living and the world of the dead. He uses this technique to get a lead on the whereabouts of Quentin Turnbull.

In the meantime Turnbull is planning to reverse the outcome of the war by stealing a weapon that has been dubbed the “nation killer”.  He plans to use this very destructive device to kill President Grant and a whole bunch of politicians at a Fourth of July celebration. It falls upon Jonah to stop him and thus save the country.

The film features all sorts of modern (for their time) weapons such as a gatling gun that mounts to Jonah’s horse,  dynamite shooting cross bow pistols and, of course, that nation killer. It is a well filmed movie with lovely scenery and a very fast pace. I found it to be somewhat short with a running time of only one hour and twenty minutes.

Despite the fact that the film is not doing too well at the box office and most critics panned it, I found it enjoyable to watch. I will tell you that the PG13 rating had to be at the very edge of that category’s limits due to an abundance of violence.

Rated  – PG13 -

Fatwayne’s Rating   -    -