Jonah Hex

Based on an antihero from a DC Comic series created in the early 1970s, this savage action-adventure Western centers on Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin), a Civil War veteran whose family is deliberately incinerated by Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich), a former Confederate colonel who blames Jonah for the death of his soldier son. Not only is Jonah forced to listen to his own wife and child scream in agony, but Turnbull and his sadistic henchman, Burke (Michael Fassbender), also hideously disfigure his face. After this near-death experience, Jonah is “revived” by friendly Native Americans, becoming almost invincible, with a supernatural ability to “talk” with the dead. Propelled by a thirst for vengeance, Jonah becomes a bounty hunter, toting assorted weapons that include a tomahawk, a couple of revolvers, twin Gatling guns attached to his horse, and a crossbow rigged to shoot dynamite sticks. Megan Fox costars as Jonah's only friend, Lilah, a prostitute working in New Orleans. When it becomes clear that the crazed Turnbull is planning to overthrow the U.S. government during America's centennial, Jonah is recruited to track him down by President Ulysses S. Grant (Aidan Quinn). Director Jimmy Hayward is unable to turn this stylish claptrap into a cohesive narrative, instead opting for glitzy editing while blasting Mastodon's heavy metal score. Both loud and tedious, this is not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include additional scenes (5 min.) and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is “The Weird Western Tales of Jonah Hex” picture-in-picture featurette with the cast and crew, “The Inside Story” production featurette (11 min.), bonus DVD and digital copies of the film, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)