[THE
SALVATION opens in Cleveland on
Friday March 13th exclusively at the Capitol Theatre.]
Review
by Bob Ignizio
Jon
(Mads Mikkelsen) and his brother Peter (Mikael Persbrandt) are two
former Danish soldiers trying to make a new life in America's wild
west in THE SALVATION.
After 7 years of hard work getting his homestead ready, Jon is
finally about to welcome his wife and 10 year old son to his new
home. Tragically, the reunion is short lived as Jon's family is
killed by two recently released criminals. He hunts them down and
kills them in revenge, but that's nowhere near the end of things.
It
turns out that one of the criminals was the brother of Delarue
(Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a gang leader working for an oil company to
buy up land in the town near where Jon and Peter live. Since the
local sheriff/preacher (Douglas Henshall) hasn't caught the man who
killed his brother, Delarue kills a few of the townspeople and raises
his rate for “protection” money, promising he won't rest until he
has vengeance. The feelings of the dead brother's mute widow (Eva
Green) are less clear, at least at first. Of course it all leads to a
great deal of murder, torture, and rape to the tune of a
Morricone-esque soundtrack.
There
really is nothing new here, but director/co-writer Kristian Levring
does it well and with an obvious affection for the genre. Plus he's
got Mikkelsen as his lead. Anybody who can take on the role of a pop
cultural icon like Hannibal Lecter as Mads has on TVs “Hannibal”
and make viewers say, “Anthony who?” is an actor to be reckoned
with, and he proves that once again here. Just as good here is
Jeffrey Morgan playing an utterly loathsome villain who you can't
wait to see get his. Eva Green plays yet another sexual object who
vacillates between victim and femme fatale, but unlike her similar
roles in SIN CITY,
WHITE BIRD IN A BLIZZARD,
or 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE
doesn't make much of an impression here. Not her fault, really; the
character is barely written.
Still,
I love a good Spaghetti Western, even if it's a Danish production
shot in Johannesburg, South Africa. No, THE SALVATION
is not on the level of Sergio Leone's masterpieces like A
FISTFUL OF DOLLARS or ONCE
UPON A TIME IN AMERICA. It's
more like the countless knock-offs and rip-offs that flooded
grindhouses in the wake of DOLLARS'
success, only more polished and with a better cast. It's not exactly
worth shouting about it from the rooftops, but if you're a fan of the
genre it'll most likely satisfy. 2 ½ out of 4 stars.
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