Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Popcorn & Coffee: Forsaken



Rated R; 89 minutes; $32.98; Amazon
I believe that I have mentioned a time or two on here about my love for the western genre (books & movies). Unfortunately, this is a dying genre, with exception of the occasional theatrical film, the only way to find a decent "wild west" movie is to look for the ones that go direct-to- VOD or direct-to-DVD.

Last month, Momentum Pictures released the western Forsaken to DVD and Blu-ray. Directed by Jon Cassar (24), the film stars Kiefer Sutherland (24), Donald Sutherland (The Hunger Games films), Brian Cox (X2: X-Men United), Michael Wincott (Alien: Resurrection), Aaron Podle (The Scent of Rain and Lightning) and Demi Moore (Ghost

The only special feature on the single-disc Blu-ray is the Making-of Featurette.

Forsaken follows a very familiar plot that occurred in countless western flicks of the 1950s, in which the prodigal son returns home after the Civil War. In this film,  John Henry (played by Kiefer Sutherland) returns to his hometown in search of a more meaningful life. He left home many years ago to join the Civil War, but found himself drifting around to town to town afterward; eventually his wild ways led to a death of an innocent, so he put away his guns and came back home.

Sadly, John's homecoming is not a pretty one as he learns about his mother's death upon arriving at his family's small farm. His father, Reverend William Clayton (played by Donald Sutherland), doesn't exactly have welcoming arms for him, but, nevertheless, the Reverend prays that John will stay away from his gunsling ways.


John does his best to stay out of trouble; but it seems that trouble has a way of finding him. During his absence, a powerful businessman, James McCurdy (played by Brian Cox) has taken over the town and is in the process of buying all the local farmers' lands. However, there's a small group of farmers whom have banned together and are against selling their land, which happens to be lead by the Reverend.

After McCurdy's men make a deadly threat towards the Reverend, John has no other choice, but to put back on his gun belt and take justice into his own hands.


Final Thoughts: Yes, the plot here has been done death in western films, but the good news is that the acting from the entire cast is topnotch and the directing is above average for this kind of release. Despite a few cliches, Forsaken is a pretty decent watch; especially the father/son scenes with Donald & Kiether Sutherland. It's definitely worth checking out on Blu-ray or DVD.


*Disclaimer - I received complimentary copy in exchange for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

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