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Westerners are appearing more increasingly in the last year or so. From recent releases such as Hell on the Border and Righteous Blood to the upcoming Apache Junction and even western/horror hybrids like The Pale Door and Skinwalker. It appears the Old West is in fashion again. Infusing this trend is Catch the Bullet, written by Jerry Robbins and Michael Feifer, director of Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield and 16 and Missing. Does it live up to the hype? Or should you dodge a bullet and catch something else?
After his absence, he returns only to notice his father is injured and his son is missing, all thanks to Jed Miller and his posse. He sets off with Tucker, a young, inexperienced deputy who seems to have a deep, ferocious hatred for all Injuns, and a Pawnee hunter known as Chaska. This time, it is personal.
Less than five minutes in, I had my first indication Catch the Bullet was going to be a disappointment. In the scene where MacMaster faces the trio of outlaws, first one of them draws a gun, takes a shot, then the second takes a shot as well. Instead of working together in a coordinated attack, a third person armed finally comes into play, so we get a scene of hiding while there is a gun where the person dives. Not the most exciting of starts.
As cliche, as it gets, you have The Marshal who is very tough, the inexperienced person looking for self validation, and the Native American tracker. Miller, one of the antagonists, is pure evil as he shoots Chad’s friend without batting an eye. He and his goons had just escaped from the jail MacMaster had thrown them into. Also, to make things worse, the Sioux have gone rogue and are brutally murdering settlers. It’s at least better than the Apaches.
Like the characters, the story of Catch the Bullet is equally boring, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The story goes as expected which is always a letdown. The scenes lack suspense or any sort of impending doom and one can almost always see what will occur in the subsequent scenes. So from Chad’s escape to the Sioux arriving at the most inconvenient intervals.
Catch the Bullet is bad news. It’s incredibly boring, but that’s not the worst part. It has no dramatic moments and the war scenes lack any consideration or thorough planning. The entire movie looks like those westerns released in the 50s and played on television. The same familiar story was told in a different country, only this time it is completely destroyed because the budget was low and the director needed to finish their needs. And from what I can tell about Michael Feifer, yeah, He does the kind of work that makes him fast and cheap but Jack of all trades. Michael Feifer is not the best director and the proof is that he has made 71 films in the last 16 years, many of which were not for lifetime so I can’t test what the bottom of the barrel looks like.
Catching the Bullet is only watched for the actors they have on the cover. Tom Skerritt is included in that group, and he gave us ten minutes of his time at best. The sheriff is played by Peter Facinelli (Twilight, Supergirl), and he gives us only 5 minutes of screen time at best.
Catch the Bullet is a fine choice if all you seek is a Western that is ‘good’ enough for your enjoyment. If you want anything better than that or different from the usual fare, you might want to reconsider. Even a lesser-known Spaghetti Western, like Fulci’s Massacre Time or My Name is Pecos, would be a better option.
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