A Kooky Nic Cage & Gunfire Galore – ryan

In terms of character voices, you’ve heard Academy Award-winner Nicolas Cage do the jittery thing (Matchstick Men). You’ve heard him do over-the-top and villainous (Face/Off). The mumbling thing (Pig). The straight and narrow hero, of course (National Treasure). But what about a raspy, barely-getting-the-words-out kind of voice? Almost like the late Bob Einstein’s “Marty Funkhauser” in Curb Your Enthusiasm with a splash of Marlon Brando from The Godfather. Cage utilizes it for his latest film, a Western simply titled Gunslingers, a familiar-sounding title that is actually not a reimagining of past classics.

Unfortunately, the rather thin story woven by Gunslingers writer-director Brian Skiba is no match for Western film auteurs who have shined in decades past. Cage ends up being underused in what becomes a simple shoot-em-up by the predictable ending. Other famed actors, like the forever-appealing Heather Graham (Boogie Nights) and reliably solid Stephen Dorff (reteaming with Skiba after Dead Man’s Hand) give it their all but can’t seem to save this small-scale effort. But in a town called Redemption, where this new film is set, maybe fans of HBO’s Deadwood might be okay with factory seconds.

Vindication within Redemption

Gunslingers

Release Date: April 11, 2025
Director: Brian Skiba
Producers: Randall Batinkoff, Jamie R. Thompson

Cast

Stephen Dorff

Thomas Keller

When the most wanted man in America surfaces in a small Kentucky town, his violent history — and a blood-thirsty mob seeking vengeance and a king’s ransom — soon follow. As brothers face off against one another and bullets tear the town to shreds, this lightning-fast gunslinger makes his enemies pay the ultimate price for their greed.

Pros & Cons

Nicolas Cage is reliably eccentric in a memorable role.
Skiba is a good action director and his shoot-em-up scenes are done well.

Dorff and Graham are too restrained, and Cage is underused.
It’s a by-the-numbers Western with a predictable conclusion.

Now you can add “most wanted man in America” to Dorff’s vast array of film roles. Gunslingers centers on the veteran actor’s latest antihero, Thomas Keller, who hails from New York but now finds himself in a small Kentucky town known as Redemption soon after we first meet him. He is indeed a reformed “gunslinger,” having been guided to a sort of vindication by a celebrated spiritual leader named Jericho (Saw regular Costas Mandylor). The community pillar lives among other now-peaceful outlaws in the small Kentucky town, including the aforementioned Ben (Cage), DIY doctor Lin (Rush Hour star Tzi Ma, still going strong after all these years), and a mixed bag of other reformed hotheads.

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Then, things get all Hateful Eight once chance occurrences bring everything, everywhere all at once to this desert town — at least in terms of Thomas’ world. Single mom Val (Graham) almost arrives in town and is clearly on the run from something with her young daughter. Val’s ties to Thomas will soon come to the surface when certain chance run-ins ensue. Val and her child take up shelter at the local hotel managed by Bella (Scarlet Rose Stallone), who’s able to keep the peace among her boisterous Redemption residents — that is, until whatever Val is running from arrives in town. Indeed, Quentin Tarantino’s 2015 Western film comes to mind since the mob that proceeds to swarm Redemption is led by a ruthless, eye-patched madman named Robert (Jeremy Kent Jackson) — who happens to be Thomas’ brother…

Nicolas Cage’s Voice of a Journey

Rifles quickly blaze, with the lightning-fast gunslinger Thomas soon revealing just how he became America’s most wanted. Cowboy diehards will enjoy the on-screen artistry of just how quickly this film’s actors (and stuntmen) whip out their handheld cannons in an endless series of shootouts between mob and locals. Writer-director Skiba is hoping certain plot developments surrounding Thomas will keep you hooked once the town is surrounded by his brother Robert’s tyrannical forces — but once a certain twist is revealed in the final act, there’s a chance it won’t even hit that hard given all the muddled side stories that have already been thrown our way.

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An impressive spread of famed actors can only go so far in a small-scale project, especially if there isn’t that much for them to do, including veteran Forrie J. Smith. But we get it — how could you shoot a Western these days without including the Yellowstone co-star? And then, there’s lead actress Heather Graham, who’s unfortunately too darn restricted in her motherly role alongside the equally restrained Dorff. Check out Graham’s other recent thriller Place of Bones if you’d like a Western that offers the celebrated actress plenty more to work with.

And finally, a word on Cage and his few scenes in Gunslingers. He gets lost in the role of Ben behind those eerie spectacle of his, but the most distinct character in the film leaves us wanting more from that equally unsettling voice he creates. Here’s a pitch: have a whole movie (or at least a short film) dedicated to Ben, and explore how his tarnished vocal cords descended to such a tragic state. Perhaps it reflects a hardened, tobacco-laced journey from madness and killing sprees to this safe haven for outlaws in Gunslingers, which ultimately feels like a disappointing mish-mash of everything you’ve seen from the genre thus far.

From Lionsgate, Gunslingers will be released in theaters, on demand, and on digital platforms on April 11, 2025.