Filmology Rating: 1.5 out of 4

Jane Got a Gun is the story of a woman named Jane who needs to protect her husband who has been shot and her family from a group of outlaws that want revenge from past events. With a very talented cast of Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, and Ewan McGregor, this movie did not live up to its full potential. It takes so long to build up the plot and the intensity of the film that you lose interest in the movie from the very beginning. When the film reveals why these events are happening, you finally start to care about what is going on, but by then it’s almost too late and the movie is nearly over. I specify “almost” because it did bring back my interest to the emotional revealing of the events. I was hoping for more of a western or action movie, but it turned out to be more of a love triangle drama. The lack of action made this movie relatively boring, and as a result, it relies heavily on the emotional appeal of the love triangle. I don't think it reached that level to make you truly invested with this film. Another thing that this movie failed on was the character of Jane. At times she felt like a very strong and independent character, but then at other times felt very weak and fragile. Her character definitely needed another run through at the drawing board to make her character more consistent as a strong female lead. She is not a consistent character, and you never really connect with her as a lead role. One person that did a great job, however, was Joel Edgerton. He was coming off one of my favorite movies this year called “The Gift”. Edgerton’s character is a hired gun to help fight the outlaws and you find out that his past is connected to Jane. This to me was the most interesting sub plot of the film. One last critic about this film is the main villain played by Ewan McGregor, which in my opinion really wasn’t very intimidating. Yeah you find out that he has done some awful stuff in the past, but he still doesn’t come across as aggressive enough to be a true villain. Overall, I feel like this movie failed as a western film, fails as a drama, and barely is held together by the love triangle and past events of the individual’s lives.

Rating: Let It Burn

-Nick