Movies
Jonah Hex
“There’s just nothing there; JONAH HEX is soulless.”
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: An uncatchable terrorist’s plot is uncovered forcing a dumb, useless government to hire a rebel to save day. That’s the entire plot of Warner Bros.’ live-action adaptation of DC Comics’ JONAH HEX, which puts Josh Brolin the title role of the disfigured “anti-hero”.
With a riddling 83-minute runtime, by the end credits it becomes pretty obvious that this summer movie was trimmed down to be a fast-paced, mind-numbing action flick.
The aforementioned edit is realized within the opening moments when the audience is rushed through Jonah Hex’s history with an obnoxious voiceover, and quick flashing comic book clips. I don’t know about you, but I love the first BATMAN and SPIDER-MAN movies because they’re rich in character development and share with us the origins of these beloved icons. JONAH HEX literally butchers the history of Hex by dumping the “reason for revenge” off like it’s completely inconsequential. Hex is tied up, Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich) is angry, grrrrr, and thus orders the death of Hex’s family – right in front of him. Then the voiceover tells us the big twist: Hex can talk to dead people! How did he gain this magical gift? Oh, he nearly died and came back with these powers. There you have it, Hex’s entire origin story dumped on your porch step and lit on fire. Stomp on it a bit and you’ll find a steaming turd inside.
The odd lack of character development wasn’t the only issue as problems ranged from poor set design to disastrous CGI. Roles appear and vanish (I’m pretty sure I only saw the incredible Michael Shannon for seconds; more proof of a botched edit). Even the score by heavy metal band Mastodon set me off as it just blared nonsensical sounds in my brain (just wait until the train nearly runs you over and blows out your eardrums).
There’s just nothing there; JONAH HEX is soulless. At best it’s like a fill-in mission on the video game “Red Dead Redemption.” In the end there are only two reasons to see HEX. The first is to beat the summer heat and kill an hour and half before your parents pick you up from the mall/theater. The other is to officially say goodbye to these puppies…
Adam Wingard (You’re Next, The Guest) is getting back to his roots with A24‘s Onslaught, and many fans have been wondering if the events of the upcoming film connect in any way to one of Wingard’s previous movies, The Guest. After all, they do seem to be cut from a similar cloth, with some speculating that they might take place in the same universe.
But is there any truth to that speculation? In a new interview out of San Diego Comic-Con this week, Adam Wingard has revealed that the fans are definitely onto something!
Wingard explains, “I look at this as a cap in the trilogy between The Guest and You’re Next. It’s not like a direct sequel, in the sense that it’s a continuation of those characters, but it takes place in the same town as The Guest. The idea is that the secret programs we’re seeing going on here are other little aspects of the same thing David’s character came from in The Guest.”
“So you could actually technically call this a sequel,” Wingard admits. “It’s in the same universe.”
‘The Guest’
Releasing in theaters on September 4, Adam Wingard’s Onslaught is Rated ‘R’ for “Strong bloody violence, some gore, sexual material/nudity, and language.”
Watch the previously released Onslaught trailer and find two new posters below.
The duo behind The Guest, director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett, are re-teaming for the upcoming Onslaught, which stars Adria Arjona in the leading role.
Here’s the synopsis: “When a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers break loose in the desert, a badass Army sniper must unleash hell to protect her young daughter.”
Rebecca Hall (The Night House, Godzilla x Kong) and Dan Stevens (The Guest) also star in Adam Wingard’s upcoming new movie Onslaught alongside Michael Biehn, Reginald VelJohnson, Eric Wareheim, Drew Starkey, and Alex “Poatan” Pereira.
Dan Stevens starred alongside Maika Monroe in 2014 action-thriller The Guest. He played a mysterious ex-soldier with a secret agenda who wreaks havoc on a small town.
‘Onslaught’
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