Jonah Hex

It's obvious that this is a movie with problems, problems which someone tried to fix by chopping it up with a carpet knife and then sticking it back together with painter's tape. It's all a question of making choices, and whoever edited Jonah Hex makes all the wrong ones.

The look of the film is great, though visually there are three distinctive streams that Hayward has trouble meshing. There is the stark graphic comic book style that is used to good effect in the beginning when Jonah is filling us in on why he's so mad. The style that dominates the film is a sort of spaghetti western wrapped in worn leather and dusted by grime, that is by far the best; and finally a surreal-scape of dry red river beds and scary dreams, which look evocative but are just not right for this movie.

It doesn't inspire confidence to discover that the filmmakers went to the trouble of mounting a costly and elaborate production to introduce an unsung antihero to a overcrowded comicbook-movie market, only to end the pic at a mere 81 minutes (including closing credits).

Jonah Hex has more problems than the film's tormented central character. It's a confusing and poorly shot adaptation of a minor comic-book story that feels days longer than its scant 80-minute running time.

The opening frame of Jonah Hex should say: "Caution: Made expressly for the male teen demographic. Not suitable for anyone of any age who prefers movies with coherence, an original plot or characters they give a hoot about."