Title – Jane Got a Gun (2016)

Director – Gavin O’Connor (Warrior)

Cast – Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, Ewan McGregor, Noah Emmerich, Boyd Holbrook, Rodrigo Santoro

Plot – In the wilds of the American west, Jane Hammond (Portman) must seek the support of her jilted ex-lover Dan Frost (Edgerton) in taking down a ruthless gang led by John Bishop (McGregor) who are out to find and kill her and her husband Bill (Emmerich).

“My life’s worth isn’t your concern”

Review by Eddie on 24/06/2016

In 2011 director Gavin O’Connor delivered a very special film in the form of the on face value generic sporting themed family drama Warrior, a film that despite low end box office takings has since gone onto become a well-liked and respected tale featuring memorable turns by its three leads Nick Nolte, Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton.

Warrior was a film with heart, relatable characters and a cinematic energy that burst out from the screen, it is in many ways then a completely opposite film to O’Connor’s troubled remake Jane Got a Gun, a film completed in 2013 but only emerging this year to little to no fanfare.

Taking over the reins at quite literally the last minute from the film’s original director Lynne Ramsey (who perhaps realised there was no saving this sinking ship), O’Connor’s take on the classic tale of farm girl Jane taking it to the gang out to kill her husband and ruin her life is so devoid of purpose and life that its mightily hard to even envisage what this film was aiming for and from the lacklustre start through to its long gestating yet disappointing fire fight finale, Jane Got a Gun struggles to make any form of impact on the viewer and bares all the hallmarks of a film that’s behind the scenes actions impacted badly on its final product.

O’Conner has for some time now with films like the aforementioned Warrior and others like Miracle and Pride and Glory has shown himself to be a fine director of both action and actors but Jane Got a Gun fails in both these elements. O’Connor try’s hard to liven the film up with sporadic yet bloodthirsty violence but it’s all played out in such a generic nature that it matters little while the films competent cast all fail to make a dent with Natalie Portman and Joel Edgerton delivering some downright average performances as Jane and Dan respectively while the seemingly fake tanned Ewan McGregor stumbles his way along as the films big bad John Bishop.

Devoid of any spirit, Jane Got a Gun is tiresome and impact free remake. It’s hard to know who exactly is to blame for the end result here but all involved should’ve known better and have all done much better in the past and its likely all who were apart of this box office misfire (the film didn’t even appear at Australian cinemas) are likely to erase this from their memories quicker than a you could draw a pistol.

1 hot air balloon out of 5