Written by: Brian Duffield, Anthony Tambakisl, Joel Edgerton
Starring: Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, Rodrigo Santoro, Boyd HolbrookEwan McGregor
Rating: [2/5]
Getting the opportunity to watch a different perspective within a well-entrenched genre presents something new and worthy of exploring, especially in the world of Westerns. Too often they have the same type of protagonist at the center telling somewhat similar stories but in Jane Got a Gun, we follow a woman in search for vengeance. While having good intention, this feature unfortunately does not have the juice of a compelling narrative played out in such a dreary manner.
After returning home with several wounds inflicted by the Bishop Boys, Ham (Noah Emmerich) requires the help of his wife, Jane (Natalie Portman) for safety. Serving as the last line of defense for safety, Jane realizes she must fend for them but also enlists the help of an ex-fiancé, Dan (Joel Edgerton) who initially feels wary of assisting her against this dangerous gang on their way to cause harm.
Having Natalie Portman in a leading role as a badass killer in a Western has all the makings of something that would draw my attention. A great actor hopefully receiving some strong material to work with. Well, good news is we got the great actor to show up but not the material necessary to make for a great film or at the very least a good one. This film certainly has quite the troubled production history with all the times it nearly fell apart, which makes me have some sympathy for the disruptions in trying to find success but we just do not receive anything worthwhile.
The setup, like many Westerns, has a simplicity to it where an individual has angered a gang and therefore needs to do what they can to survive. Getting the protection from a sheriff didn’t really exist at the time, and therefore Jane must figure out how to do things on her own. Going into this feature, perhaps I expected, something titled Jane Got a Gun would have a bit more of Jane utilizing the weapon than what we received. If we were going to play into a story in having a woman lead the lead role, then we should at least have her show out. Perhaps that would not make it a realistic story but it sure would have made for a more entertaining film because what we receive just feels like a middling story with nothing in its presentation to grip the audience.
As far as compliments for this feature go, this feature still manages to follow the tried and true tradition of Westerns in capturing the beauty of the American landscape. Mandy Walker stepped up to the task in at the very least presenting us with something pleasing to look at while having to get through all the interesting things happening in the foreground. You can feel the isolation of these characters within their particular terrains and displaying the feat it will take in order for them to survive this ordeal.
When looking at the cast list put together for this feature, it certainly brought together some interesting individuals, with some playing against type. Joel Edgerton certainly plays a role where he finds comfort as a gruff hero who needs to step in and assist, along with Boyd Holbrook as a crusty villain. The one who very much plays into something quite different is Ewan McGregor, who typically likes to take on hero roles throughout his career, but in this feature he goes full-on evil villain and for as much talent as the man has, it just did not work in his portrayal as John Bishop. From the look and the screenplay he received as the character, none of it really sold the danger because I could not take him seriously with that mustache. All the other elements lacking in quality certainly did not help.
Overall a disappointment in every way where the finger could be pointed in many directions to discern what caused the lack of success in this feature’s final product. Natalie Portman, in this opportunity to kick some butt operated in a role just beyond damsel in distress but nothing of what this film sold to audiences. Not a single bit of excitement does this film ever generate, which is a shame considering all the talent involved trying their hardest to push this troubled production over the finish line.
Films with Josh 
