All Rise...

Judge Roy Hrab believes this movie to be most unrighteous.

The Charge

No man is innocent.

The Case

Wow…The Righteous and The Wicked is the most boring western and possibly the most boring movie I've ever seen. It really blows my mind. Particularly boggling is that this is just the latest abysmal western to come from Lionsgate, who released previous duds The Gunslingers and Triggerman.

There is a gang of bad guys in The Righteous and The Wicked. They talk very slowly. And they stand very still while they are talking slowly. The gang stands still while talking slowly about their plan to rob a bank (slowly). On further reflection, every scene is quite static and nothing much happens at any point of the film.

Their plan to rob the bank involves a very long and slow diversion (the slow robbery requires this). The diversion is very boring (because it is so slow). The climax of the "diversion" scene includes music that recalls Once Upon A Time In The West, a classic western that is worth watching, unlike this film.

Additionally, the film includes a man with no name who is hunting down the gang. He has no charisma. He also serves no purpose.

The production values are low. There is one poor quality shootout. And there isn't a single horse chase.

It all ends 96 minutes later. However, there is not enough material here for even half the time. Every scene, every line, and every shot is drawn out. There is nothing original in the story. The acting is wooden. The dialogue is empty of anything remotely interesting.

I guess they were going for a Sergio Leone feel. Indeed, on this point, the commentary track with writer-director Craig A. Butler and director of photography Billy Garberina state that they have created a spaghetti western in the tradition of Leone. They sound quite proud of their work. Good for them. The movie is still bad.

The extras also include a behind the scenes featurette and a trailer.

Avoid this film.

The Verdict

Guilty.

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