Grim, relentless pursuit Western turns mystical in the last act

A vengeful former Confederate colonel (Liam Neeson) leads a small group of hirelings in an unyielding hunt for the former Union officer who horribly wronged him three years earlier (Pierce Brosnan). The only problem is that the latter is an expert fighter and survivalist.

This is a well done revenge Western with spectacular and varied remote Western locations (detailed below). If you thought Brosnan was a pretty boy as James Bond this movie will change your mind as he’s virtually unrecognizable as the skilled Rambo-like militarist. The tone is similar to contemporaneous Westerns like “The Missing” (2003) and “September Dawn” (2007), but with a revenge-chase plot. The final act throws in supernatural elements with characters like Mr. Charon (Wes Studi) and Louise C. Fair (Angelica Huston). You don’t have to think too hard to figure out who they really are.

The movie runs 1 hour, 55 minutes and was shot in Oregon (McKenzie River, Sahalie Falls and Koosah Falls), New Mexico (Lordsburg, Taos, Bramlett and Santa Fe), Arizona (Willcox Playa, Pirtleville, San Bernardino Valley and Chiricahua National Monument) and Death Valley National Park, California.

GRADE: B/B-