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JOE CRIST (2024)
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
I’ve mostly steered away from reviewing Westerns made by my peers but I heard so many good things about JOE CRIST that I added it to my list.
It’s a fun-natured shoot ’em up. Working with the kind of low budget I’ve also had at my disposal, the movie is surprisingly well shot, going for a polished/bright look over the usual drab, desaturated Western tone. It’s nice to see others (because we have too recently) bringing some color back into the Western genre. And there’s also color in the performances, featuring a big supporting ensemble with many standouts especially Curt Lambert.
However, not all of the film worked for me. I can’t stand the use of digital blood and JOE CRIST uses it in abundance. I understand the expense of special effects gags but even if they’d been cheap and cheesy (which the film is intentionally anyway) they would have improved the quality and humor exponentially. The script also needed work. It feels like a series of scenes, mostly shoot outs, strung together with very little story to bind it all together. The movie clocks in at under an hour, which I have no issue with in principle, but the filmmakers should have padded that time with more character and plot development.
There’s a reason I don’t review the work of my peers. It feels unfair to criticize other filmmakers working on my level, trying to make good movies with limited resources. I don’t want to discourage anyone from seeing JOE CRIST because it is a good time at the movies.
Watched on Tubi.
