The Old Way

Standard track-down to get justice Western with great scenery and one unique bit

After a tragedy, a nigh-psychopathic shop owner in Wyoming (Nicolas Cage) teams-up with his precocious daughter (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) to set things a’right. Nick Searcy plays the head marshal while Noah Le Gros and Clint Howard are on hand as villains.

“The Old Way” (2023) mixes together the openings of “The Outlaw Josey Wales” and “Unforgiven” with the seasoned gunfighter/young girl protagonists of “True Grit,” along with the comic book villains of “Hannie Caulder” and the milieu of “The Missouri Breaks” (southwestern Montana, where it was shot). While it’s on par with “Hannie Caulder” it’s not quite on the level of greatness (or near-greatness) of the others. But it’s certainly superior to relatively recent Trace Adkins’ Westerns like "Stagecoach: The Texas Jack Story" and "The Virginian," which weren’t up to snuff.

It's enjoyable to see Cage in a ‘Man With No Name’ role and the little girl is quite good. Meanwhile the scenery is worth the price of admission. Unfortunately, the comic book vibe and some contrived writing make the proceedings seem unreal. Yet the ‘dead inside’ element is interesting along with the corresponding ‘chip off the old block’ angle.

The film runs 1 hour, 34 minutes, and was shot at Yellowstone Ranch in Paradise Valley, Livingston, Montana, which is an hour’s drive north of the border of northwestern Wyoming & Yellowstone National Park.

GRADE: B-