{"id":595031,"date":"2023-01-07T05:49:09","date_gmt":"2023-01-07T11:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/07\/the-old-way-review-nicolas-cage-elevates-dusty-western\/"},"modified":"2023-01-07T05:49:09","modified_gmt":"2023-01-07T11:49:09","slug":"the-old-way-review-nicolas-cage-elevates-dusty-western","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/07\/the-old-way-review-nicolas-cage-elevates-dusty-western\/","title":{"rendered":"The Old Way review: Nicolas Cage elevates dusty Western"},"content":{"rendered":"<article id=\"dt-post-content\" itemid=\"post-content\" itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" onerror=\"dti_load_error(this)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/the-old-way.jpg?p=1\" alt=\"Nicolas Cage and Ryan Kiera Armstrong stare at the camera with a horse behind them in a scene from The Old Way.\" skip_size_classes=\"1\" ignore_aspect_ratio=\"1\"  >\t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<blockquote><p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\u201cNicolas Cage&#8217;s first Western doesn&#8217;t blaze any new trails, but it does boast fine performances from its lead and co-star Ryan Kiera Armstrong.\u201d\n\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tPros\t\t\t<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNicolas Cage elevates the film\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSome surprisingly emotional moments\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tStandout performance from Ryan Kiera Armstrong\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tCons\t\t\t<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPredictable, formulaic story\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tForgettable villains\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A good Western can cover a lot of ground, literally and thematically. Hollywood\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/best-westerns-on-netflix\/\">best Westerns<\/a> tend to use the genre to explore complicated historical, emotional, and personal subject matter, sometimes with nuance, but more often with the sort of explosive, straightforward stories that create a trail of bodies and plenty of moral uncertainty among the story\u2019s principal characters.<\/p>\n<p>Director Brett Donowho\u2019s\u00a0<em>The Old Way<\/em> keeps things simple, but the film\u2019s familiar tale of a grizzled gunslinger whose bloody past catches up with him still manages to deliver a few surprises, along with an entertaining performance from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/best-modern-nicolas-cage-movies-rotten-tomatoes\/\">Nicolas Cage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/the-old-way-nicolas-cage.jpeg?fit=720%2C411&#038;p=1\" onerror=\"dti_load_error(this)\" alt=\"Nicolas Cage scowls at the camera in a scene from The Old Way.\" previous-src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/the-old-way-nicolas-cage.jpeg?fit=720%2C411&#038;p=1\"><\/figure>\n<p>Based on a script penned by Carl W. Lucas,\u00a0<em>The Old Way<\/em> casts Cage as Colton Briggs, a former gunfighter whose quiet life as a husband and father is torn apart by the adult son of a man he killed years earlier. Determined to avenge the murder of his wife, Colton sets out with his young, emotionally distant daughter to hunt down the man who brought his retirement to a brutal end.<\/p>\n<p>While Cage is front and center as the film\u2019s cold-blooded gunslinger, he\u2019s joined in the cast by <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/firestarter-review\/\">Firestarter<\/a><\/em>\u00a0star Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Brooke, Colton\u2019s daughter. Noah Le Gros (<em>The Beach House<\/em>) plays James McCallister, whose father was killed by Colton decades earlier, while Shiloh Fernandez <em>(Evil Dead),<\/em> Abraham Benrubi <em>(ER),<\/em> and Clint Howard (<em>Apollo 13<\/em>) play the members of McCallister\u2019s\u2019 gang.<\/p>\n<p>On the surface,\u00a0<em>The Old Way<\/em> is a fairly traditional, by-the-numbers Western. Anyone familiar with the tropes of the genre will have a good idea early on where the story is headed and who\u2019s likely to live or die among the cast. Colton and Brooke\u2019s dogged pursuit of McCallister\u2019s and his gang leaves little time to delve into backstories, and the film\u2019s villains are only developed enough to provide the occasional interlude as the story follows the father and daughter\u2019s journey. When the two groups\u2019 narratives finally reach a bloody intersection, the result is so predictable within the conventions of the genre and safe (narratively speaking) that it feels a bit anticlimactic.<\/p>\n<p>What\u00a0<em>does<\/em> set\u00a0<em>The Old Way<\/em> apart from similar stories, however, are the performances from Cage and Armstrong, as well as some of the decisions it makes regarding their characters.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/the-old-way.jpg?fit=720%2C404&#038;p=1\" onerror=\"dti_load_error(this)\" alt=\"Nicolas Cage and Ryan Kiera Armstrong stare at the camera with a horse behind them in a scene from The Old Way.\" previous-src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/the-old-way.jpg?fit=720%2C404&#038;p=1\"><\/figure>\n<p>Cage is, as always, fascinating to watch as Colton. He\u2019s great at playing simmering characters teetering on the edge of a moral divide, and Colton is exactly that sort of character, full of seething potential and equipped with a resting killer face. The script has Cage pivot between a more traditional man of few words archetype and a tortured soul whose bitterness pours out in a torrent of dialogue whenever someone inadvertently breaks the seal.<\/p>\n<p>Armstrong plays off Cage\u2019s character well, too, and the pair\u2019s awkward relationship feels entirely in keeping with the genetics their characters share. The story\u2019s exploration of their relationship sets the stage for one of the film\u2019s few surprises, too, as Colton and Brooke gradually find common ground in the separation they feel from society.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than simply paint Colton as a cold-blooded gun for hire and move on, the film explores the ease with which Cage\u2019s character handles death and how it relates to the difficulty he has in connecting with people. What he reveals about the way his mind works and his relationship to the world around him would likely fall under Asperger\u2019s syndrome or another disorder on the autism spectrum today, but in the Wild West era, it\u2019s easy to see how the hand he was dealt in life turned him into the misunderstood man he is.<\/p>\n<p>Cage delivers this fresh spin on the lone gunslinger to peak effect \u2014 particularly as Colton begins to realize that his daughter has inherited many of the same qualities that caused him so much suffering over the years. His desperation to set her on a different path offers some of the film\u2019s most powerful moments, and differentiates <em>The Old Way<\/em> in some small \u2014 but effective \u2014 ways from the countless films it borrows from.<\/p>\n<p>While the rest of the film holds few surprises, the performances by Cage and Armstrong in <em>The Old Way<\/em> elevate an otherwise rote Western into something far more entertaining. The film doesn\u2019t take many risks and doesn\u2019t take its character into many unexpected places, but it does tweak a few traditional elements in some intriguing ways that turn <em>The Old Way<\/em> into a story worth seeing through to its explosive finale.<\/p>\n<p><em>Directed by Brett Donowho, <\/em>The Old Way<em> is now in select theaters, and available for on-demand streaming January 13.<\/em><\/p>\n<div data-location=\"below-content\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/dt-daily-logo.png?fit=430%2C140&#038;p=1\">\n\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t\tToday&#8217;s tech news, curated and condensed for your inbox\t\t<\/p>\n<div data-recipient-list-id=\"6328a74495708d00206d9855\">\n<p><i><\/i><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tCheck your inbox!\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tPlease provide a valid email address to continue.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tThis email address is currently on file. 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Please try again later.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h4>\n\tEditors&#8217; Recommendations<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/renfield-trailer-nicolas-cage-dracula\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tNicolas Cage\u2019s Dracula wants his servant back in Renfield trailer\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/the-school-for-good-and-evil-review\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tThe School for Good and Evil review: Middling magic\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/rosaline-review\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tRosaline review: Kaitlyn Dever lifts up Hulu\u2019s Romeo and Juliet rom-com riff\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/decision-to-leave-review\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tDecision to Leave review: An achingly romantic noir thriller\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/operation-seawolf-review\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tOperation Seawolf review: nice Nazis? No thanks!\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span id=\"publisher-md\" itemprop=\"publisher\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Organization\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop=\"url\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop=\"logo\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.dtcn.com\/dt\/dt-logo-small.png\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"0\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"0\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Digital Trends\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop=\"image\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/the-old-way.jpg?p=1\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/the-old-way-review\/\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Rick Marshall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cNicolas Cage&#8217;s first Western doesn&#8217;t blaze any new trails, but it does boast fine performances from its lead and co-star Ryan Kiera Armstrong.\u201d Pros Nicolas Cage elevates the film Some surprisingly emotional moments Standout performance from Ryan Kiera Armstrong Cons Predictable, formulaic story Forgettable villains A good Western can cover a lot of ground, literally<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":595032,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23615,661,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-595031","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nicolas","8":"category-review","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/595032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}