"The Old Way" Movie Review

The Old Way

Movie Review

The Old Way is an American Western film directed by Brett Donowho based on Carl W. Lucas' screenplay, Nicolas Cage plays a notorious gunslinger, Colton Briggs buries his past when he marries and starts a family. Years later, Briggs faces a personal tragedy when the illegitimate son of a man he killed returns to exact revenge, resulting in the death of his wife. With his daughter, Briggs sets out to find his wife's killer and avenge her.

Director Donowho's western story follows a standard formula, but there are plenty of laughs and smiles throughout this familiar tale. Colton Briggs is a notorious gunfighter who is smarter than his opponents and gets the job done by any means necessary. When he meets Ruth, played by Kerry Nubbe, he marries and shares a daughter, the young and daring Brooke, played by Ryan Keira Armstrong. When Briggs' past comes back to haunt him in the form of a massive revenge plan, he travels across town with Brooke to track down his wife's killers. Together, they learn more about each other as they rebuild their relationship as father and daughter, sharing memories of Ruth that will give them the strength to carry on.

The Old Way is a familiar revenge tale that transcends the heart-wrenching father-daughter adventure of the American western. Lucas' screenplay offers a fascinating dynamic between Briggs and his daughter that grounds his story with humanity. Like many Westerns, a revenge mission initiated by a bandit named James McAllister, played by Noah LeGros, affects all the main characters in different ways. But the script balances the various points of view well and gives these characters a chance to grow outside of their "kill or be killed" personas into people who care about family and well-being.

The main thing standing in The Old Way is its inability to offer anything new in its storytelling. Although the characters develop quickly enough, the revenge story is predictable. What's more, little is known about the city and its inhabitants outside of the information provided by the set design. Because of this limitation, it is difficult to fully immerse yourself in the story, especially the anticipation of the ending. The ending undoes most of the progress made by its leads, which may leave the audience with a bad feeling towards the end of the film as a whole.

Despite these issues, the interactions between Cage and Armstrong make it easy for viewers to engage with director Donohoe's tight and simple feature script. As a father/daughter duo, they pair well on screen, providing laugh-out-loud moments as well as tear-jerking moments. As expected, Cage handles this dynamic well, though the script doesn't challenge him in a way that requires deep acting skills. However, this gives newcomer Ryan Kiera Armstrong a chance to make his mark in Hollywood. She delivers a brilliant performance that perfectly moves between drama, comedy, and action in a short span of time.

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