What can you say about a movie that is literally just fine?
Jane Got A Gun is fine. It serves its purpose as a slow-burn western thriller...? Drama...? Action...? Let's just say it's a western. A slow-burn western starring Academy award winner Natalie Portman as a gun-slinging heroine trying to protect her husband; You also got in this movie Joel Edgerton, who is magnificent in everything he's in; As well as Ewan Mcgregor. I should also mention that all three of these actors were in the Attack of the Clones – so that's one thing going for it.
All the actors and actresses in this movie did fine. The directing is fine. The cinematography is fine with the exception of some action scenes. The script is fine... seriously; this movie getting the score of 35% is kinda unfair. But you could see why.
If you're an action movie, you can be just fine. Jurassic World isn't anything special and it probably has a lot less character development than Jane Got A Gun. Yet if I had a choice, I would probably choose the former. It's just more fun.
When you're trying to make a slow burn drama, you shouldn't dedicate a large section of the movie to nothing really happening, and an even larger part of it to flashbacks that seem all too whimsical for a gritty bone-baring western. The fact that the rest of the story is pretty cliched doesn't help.
Seriously, this movie plays out exactly how any movie like this would play out. The story is too much a template. It's like you're doing PowerPoint presentation with a white, blank background. It's... just... boring.
It's a story about a woman trying to protect her dying husband from a gang of western outlaws, with the help of her former lover. What do you think is going to happen? Yes. That's what happens. [SPOILER ALERT FOR DUMMIES] They talk... they practice shooting... then they talk... then there's a flashback... then the bad guys attack... they do some Home Alone stuff... some standoffs... the end.
I want to emphasize again that I think this movie is fine. I don't hate the movie. I don't think it deserves the hate it's getting. I pity the movie. I pity the Natalie Portman for trying so hard – and to be fair, actually succeeding – in trying to bring her A-game to the table. There is a scene when her character has to REALLY break down – and the actress makes it work. Her performance is pretty great.
Joel Edgerton put up a good performance as well. He's not as explosive as Natalie Portman in some scene, but he's good in his subtle way.
I feel like as far as a drama goes, this one has some good stuff. The movie is ultimately about two very damaged people who thought they've had the worst of the worst. But when they do talk it out in the movie, they do come to realize each person has a story to tell. Each person has his/her own suffering.
I guess I could say I like the 2 of them... Natalie Portman and Joel Edgerton as a pair. But honestly, there isn't much of chemistry between the two of them. The story is good but the scripts and the dialogues are not great enough to make me so invested in them. The direction in this film is particularly dry. The movie itself takes place in a desert, and it feels... well, barren and empty. I can't help it, I yawned a couple of time in the cinema. I was fidgeting with myself. Itching to get up. Rather restless.
The movie could've benefited from a bit more juice and twist to the story. It could've benefited from a bit more charisma from its main characters. The movie plays too safe. And it's not that kind of action packed fun that could get people into the theatre. Unfortunately unlike most other unpopular slow burn drama, this one won't grab any Oscar.
Movies like this disappear as soon as it's released. No matter how much star power there is, or even if the man behind the camera directed the magnificent Warrior back in 2011, Jane Got A Gun will be forgotten upon release as it has been.
I didn't hate this movie, but it never grabs me. As soon as I leave the theatre, the film evaporates from my head. The characters become cardboard cutouts in my mind. The story revealed itself to be clichéd. The only amusing moment in the movie is when one of the actors really dropped the ball. There's this one guy who is so over the top in his scene earlier on in the movie that I couldn't help but laugh at it.
As for whether or not you should go see it. You should if you know what you're getting into – a slow burn drama that you won't remember. Which comes to think of it – isn't really an effective drama after all, since it fails to stick in my mind.
I really wish I could help this movie more. As I said, I feel sorry for it. But this movie could only capture the bare minimum of its requirement when it aims to be something quite dramatically good. It could only achieve a 5.3/10
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I'd like to dedicate this review to @northbynorth because she's one of my favourite writers on Wattpad. Her stories are amazing so you should definitely check them out!
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