The Duel (2016)

Did you people see the same film I saw?

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

I was really impressed by this great movie and the low rating seems totally unjustified to me. Sometimes you see a painting where it is not the content that catches your eye, but the way that it is painted. I would say that i have that experience with this movie: a well crafted piece of art. The acting is superb, the sound, music and scenery fit well together and create the perfect atmosphere for this story. Not a complex or spectacular story, but intriguing, and beautifully painted. Absolutely a must see for those who appreciate quality.

The presence of Harrelson and Hemsworth as well as the plot outline sounded promising. But Harrelson overacts every scene and uses the annoying stereotyped mush-mouth drawl that made "The Cowboy Way" so unwatchable. His "Abraham" is presented as a sort of cult leader who appears to have healing powers and can cure sickness with a single touch. Hemsworth is Texas Ranger "David" and has a wife who immediately falls sick in Abraham's town and Abraham begins to tend to her a little too much. David notes that there are no Mexicans in the border town only to find that Abraham hates them, captures them and sells them to hunters who delight in tracking and killing them. Which fails to explain why Abraham is infatuated with David's wife, who is Mexican. We also never learn why she is infatuated with the crazed Abraham. Nor is the issue of Abraham's faith healing ever revisited in the film. It's as if by the second half of the film the writer forgot he put that in the first half. Ultimately David is forced to be hunted but given a rifle and bullets to make it interesting for the hunters. His first move is to shoot the man guarding the next batch of captured Mexicans and free them. But it never occurs to the Ranger to take the gun and ammo of that guard so he eventually runs out of bullets. And after he resolves the situation, the wounded Ranger rides off into the sunset (instead of returning to Ranger HQ) leaving his confused wife behind in the town we are subsequently told was abandoned. The movie gives the impression the script was written in about 10 minutes and was never double checked for continuity or even common sense.

While this movie is well-filmed and well-acted, it's so confusing and non-Western it's an oddity. While the performances are good and well-acted, with some people-you-love-to-hate performances are delivered by Harrelson and others, the characters themselves, with the exception of Alice Braga, are mostly clichés. There's really not much background on the who and why. The dialogue is an odd combination of declaratory literate speech and modern idioms.The film is slow-moving in some areas, almost leisurely in its pacing. By and large, it's a good movie, but one that will leave some dissatisfaction in the way the ending seems unfinished, tapering off into nothing.

Creepy Western with its Paranormal Conceits never quite Grabbing the Movie and Maintaining. It can be Disturbing at times and Slants towards the Unusual. But these Genre-Bending Elements lose their Grip and Slip.It's a Well Mounted Movie with some Sharp Cinematography and the Acting is Fine all around with Woody Harrelson's Quirky Persona put to Good use and Liam Hemsworth as the Stalwart Texas Ranger never wavering from Determined Grit. His Wife (Alice Braga), along for the Ride, encounters Forces Beyond Her Control and Her Side Story may be the Film's Unexplored Territory.Violent as an Arty Western needs to be, but the Movie loses its Uniqueness and Impact when it Strays from the Spiritual Good vs Evil Stuff and Returns to the Standard Western Template. A Western not for all tastes, but Good Enough for Fans willing to Explore the Unusual in the Genre.A Missed Opportunity but still Worth a Watch.