This movie starts out bad, real bad. The set-up is way too heavy-handed. I didn't believe the sheriff was so afraid of Blackway. It almost gets to be a joke. I didn't believe that nobody in the whole town would stand up to this violent thug and bully. But about 45 minutes in, the movie hooked me and the suspense was almost unbearable. Once the three main characters were all in, I was right there with them. The violent scene in the motel was good, I thought. Well worked out and choreographed. But I wanted the tall guy to take the shotgun with him. The movie is beautifully shot and the scenery is gorgeous. Reminds me of "Wind River" which looked good, too. The character "Blackway" seems almost too violent to believe. You'd think he'd be in prison or in the ground by this point in his life. He really needs to be killed. Halfway in, I feared him and also hated him. And I feared for the three people who were trying to defend decency. So the character worked well. Overall, almost a good movie.

I agree with the 10 January 2107 review ("The movie isn't bad..."). I had recorded this movie and was going to check out the first few minutes and watch something else, but I couldn't stop watching. The story may be simple but the cast is stellar, and the story moves along at a steady pace. I liked the fact that we weren't sure through most of the movie what the characters were likely to do. The average of 5.2 is way too low in my opinion. Anthony Hopkins is great of course, but how about Hal Holbrook's understated and as usual impressive. Alexander Ludwig's performance was a continuous surprise of excellence--surprising I suppose only because I haven't been paying enough attention to his career.

This is an excellent cast working with a slightly subpar script. All of the performances are solid. Ray Liotta is always bankable as a villain. He brings an intense edginess to bad guy roles that few actors can match. Hopkins feels a bit miscast (not the guy you expect to be working at a lumber mill), but still turns in a respectable performance. There's good chemistry between Styles and Ludwig that adds extra dimension to a script that needs it. Good cinematography, particularly outdoors. The movie uses flashbacks to fill in plot holes, and it works for the relationship between Liotta and Hopkins characters. I think the movie would have worked better if they didn't use flashbacks for the Liotta/Styles relationship; it was too recent and too important in the plot context. The flashbacks make Liotta seem more sinister and unpredictable, but the movie needed a bit more length in constructing the plot. Could have also used a bit more background for Wizard and Scotty characters. Not quite enough character development overall, and the movie felt a bit flat in that regard. Worth watching if you go in with reasonable expectations.

This was an interesting little movie. The actors were top notch. It's always nice to see Hopkins, and it was really swell to see Holbrook in what, most likely, is one of his last films. The movie, itself, had issues. It was very formulaic and predictable, but I was okay with that. There are so many movies that are formulaic and predicable, which many consider to be the best of all time. For instance, I don't think for one moment anyone has a doubt that Dorothy will make it back home by the end of Wizard of Oz.I could go on. I've learned over the years to just sit back, relax, and let movies wash over you--especially movies like Blackway that have nothing short of outstanding production values. In particular, the cinematography was just phenomenal. This wasn't a movie made on a soundstage. Overall, I enjoyed this movie. Again, it wasn't fantastic, and it didn't blow my mind. It was, however, a slickly-made outing with fantastic actors and great scenery. Ray Liotta was creepy, as well.