The Long Kill

Country singing legends Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Travis Tritt form their own posse to go after Sancho Gracia who has killed one of their friends, Waylon Jennings. Even though Tritt is a sheriff now and the other two are kind of mellowed out outlaws, they all ride to get even for Jennings and administer their own brand of Outlaw Justice.

I found elements of such big screen western classics as The Searchers, Ride the High Country and Valdez is Coming all mixed in with the plot structure of Outlaw Justice. All of these guys do fine jobs and create some interesting characters. But the holes in the story as well as the lack of credible motivation for some characters leave Outlaw Justice really lacking.

Released to TV in 1999, "Outlaw Justice" (aka "The Long Kill") is a low-budget Western featuring Kris Kristofferson and Country & Western stars Willie Nelson, Travis Tritt and Waylon Jennings, the latter in a cameo at the beginning who narrates through the rest. These guys play noble outlaw-types who team-up with the son of Jennings' character (Chad Willett) to apprehend -- or, more likely, kill -- the murderer of a former gang member (Sancho Gracia).

The plot is reminiscent of "The Wild Bunch," but with likable protagonists rather than the contemptible dirtbags of that classic Western. Unfortunately, "Outlaw Justice" doesn't have the budget of that major release and this is readily apparent in the opening scene. The style of the movie also takes the mythical approach of Spaghetti Westerns and throws in some humor. As such, the tone is part-serious and part-joke, which was hard for me to embrace. In fact, the first couple of times I tried to watch "Outlaw Justice" I quit before reaching the 30 minute mark. However, once you catch a grip it's entertaining enough; the Western sets are good (although the effects are weak) and the stars are charismatic. Nelson may not be the best actor, but he's amiable. Kristofferson stands out with that "cool" Eastwood vibe and the fact that he's intimidating without even saying a word. Unfortunately, with the exception of a cameo by Leonor Watling, this is strictly an all-dude flick.

If you're a fan of the stars and their music this is a must. If not, it's a mediocre, but likable, modern TV Western.

The film runs 96 minutes and was shot in Almeria, Andalucia, Spain.

GRADE: C+

Two aging super-quick gunfighters (Nelson, Kristofferson) re-form their old bunch to revenge the killing of one of the previous members . Spaghetti Western co-production between US-Spain filmed of course in Almeria .¨The long kill¨ also titled ¨Outlaw Justice¨ is an acceptable Spanish/USA co-production with passable writing by Gene Quintano and Imanol Uribe ; displaying a slick direction by William J Corcoran . This exciting Western is packed with noisy action and lots of violence . The movie contains gun-play, action Western , bloody spectacle and fist-fights . Starred by a diverse casting as the good guys are performed by American actors and the bad guys acted by Spanish players as Simon Andreu , Sancho Gracia and Tony Isbert . It's an offbeat , thrilling and uneven Western particularly influenced by Sergio Leone , for that reason it will appeal to Spaghetti aficionados . American-Spanish co-production financed by Enrique Cerezo full of action , exaggerated characters, shootouts and drama . This is a surprisingly low-key Spaghetti Western set in the post-Civil War era in which some washed-out gunslingers (Kris Kristofferson , Willie Nelson) meet up with buddy (Waylon Jennings)'s son (Chad Willett) and join forces with a sheriff named Dalton (Tritt Travis ) and taking on a variety of problems and risks with the aim to get revenge . The gang find numerous complications when the baddies (Sancho Gracia , Tony Isbert) steal a bank and they are accused and detained. But they escape and go to Cottonwood .

This entertaining picture contains action Western , riding pursuits , shootouts and bits of campy and refreshing events with turns and twists , though contains a silly ending , including nonsense crossfire among contenders . It's an improbable blending of standard Western , there's a Spaghetti's homage , with pursuits, high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining. An interesting casting formed by Country Western singers and full of American actors as Kristofferson , Nelson , Jonathan Banks along with Spanish players as Simon Andreu , Sancho Gracia , Leonor Watling , May Heatherly , Aldo Sambrell and Marina Saura ; all of them make this oater well worth the watching . Delightful Western in which two aging gunfighters helped by other buddies unite forces in order to avenge the death of their old partner . Using his wits , breaking all the rules and kicking virtually every cliché in the pants realize a killing spree , as they relentlessly rob and murder by means of some spectacular showdowns in operatic style . Amiable but sometimes lumbering Western goes on and on about the same premise , as minutes are superfluous , it has quarter hour of excess , as it packs some moments turn out to be dull and tiring . There is plenty of action and lots of stunts in the movie , guaranteeing shot'em up, fights or stunts every few minutes . The film bears remarkable resemblance to ¨Dollars for the dead (1998)¨ realized at the same time and in similar ink by Gene Quintano with same producer , screenwriter , exteriors and some actors . The musician Jay Gruska composes a nice soundtrack with catching leitmotif and well conducted ; it's full of emotive songs and enjoyable sounds fitting to action. Striking cinematography by Federico Ribes with barren outdoors, dirty landscapes under a glimmer sun, and outdoor sequences shot on Las Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain .

Bill Corcoran's direction is well crafted , here he's more cynical and violent and packs too much action , but especially this moving Western contains broad violence and long shootouts . He is an expert TV director , being his specialty sci-fi genre as ¨Left behind II : tribulation force , Vipers , Rise of gargoyles , Atomic twister ¨ and usual episodes filmmaker of known series as ¨Stargate , Hope island , Mutant x , Kung Fu , McGiver ¨ among others . Rating : 5,5, riotous Western in which there's too action and violence and enough excitement .

I've seen the singers before. Willie is always golden... Kris & Johnny Cash did a real groaner about the last days of Frank and Jesse James, but this is MUCH BETTER than that.

Willie is always fun to watch, because his timing is so good, and Kris is a great outlaw in this one. Kris just looks at people and they think twice about tangling with him.

Waylon is their buddy who gets gunned down like a dog at the beginning, and he narrates a lot after that. (Shades of the Dukes of Hazard.) If you like these guys, you'll LOVE them in this movie. The bad guy is really bad. The "bad guys" -- i.e. "outlaws" -- are really good, and the dialog just rolls along. Not a dull moment -- even Travis Tritt is pretty god, altho he may not be "ten food high and bulletproof." Rick Tombstone, AZ

I had not realised these singers acted too until this The basic plot has a lot of promise to be a classic enjoyable straight 'action western' with possible 'feel good' or comic possibilities as well. The singers have surprising screen presence and the production runs along quite well and logically until the last shootout But the violence was generally more graphic than I like or necessary, with the usual questionable American popular romanticisation and simplification of vigilante-ism or ' a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do '. Some bits made no sense or were clearly unrealistic or fantastic so the film seemed undecided between being a straight classic western or a 'feel good' Good Guys Always Win and Are Heroes to Boot show The final scenes were rather illogical in terms of behaviour and spoilt an otherwise consistent plot. Not much more is needed to make this an 'above average' film so the unfulfilled promise is disappointing and surprising given the actors involved