Diablo (2015)

Dir: Lawrence Roeck

Colorado Territory. 1872.

The film opens with Civil War vet Jackson (Scott Eastwood, yes he is the son of Clint) escaping from his engulfed in flames house desperately trying to rescue his horse and saddle before fire completely destroys the barn. Overcome by smoke, Jackson collapses to the ground. Neighbours, attracted by the brightly burning fire, pull his unconscious body to safety. The next morning his rescuers provide him with what he needs to set after the Mexicans who kidnapped his wife and set the homestead ablaze.

Jackson sets off following the well worn trail traveled by many to save his wife. A trail that has been plagued by a murderer these last few years. And on that trail he meets up with the murderous Ezra (Walton Goggins HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES), an elusive gunslinger with a thirst for killing.

IMDB states that Eastwood is sent over 50 Western scripts a month and that he chose this script, his first Western, due to it being unique. DIABLO is a TWILIGHT ZONE / O. Henry 'twist' film about a soldier suffering from PTSD and battling his inner demons. It ain't unique. Unless this is one's very first film, viewers will pick up early what is going on. The so-called 'twist' is expected; it's only a matter of waiting for it to happen.

Lawrence Roeck's direction is fine. He even employs drones to get a few shots from overhead of the breathtaking scenery (the film was shot in Canada). But scenery does not a film make. Eastwood looks and talks very much like his father and it could be that I'm expecting more from a Western starring an Eastwood than DIABLO could possibly offer but I didn't like much other than the scenery. The script is obvious and relies too much on the surprise ending. Walton Goggins' ethereal gunslinger pops up without a hint of explanation and all but plants a neon sign proclaiming what the script has in store for us. Like Goggins, Danny Glover's appearance as a former soldier who served alongside Jackson is wasted due to the constraints of the script. The action scene climax works well but I'd long given up caring what happened to any of the characters.

*1/2 out of ****