Jonah Hex

The original Hex comics were moody and often thoughtful, with a touch of cynical humor -- and Jonah sometimes performed good deeds in spite of himself. The movie, on the other hand, is both dumb and violent, with Hex acting out of nothing but revenge and a one-dimensional villain determined to destroy the world for no good reason. Fox is added to the mix for extra box office appeal, but she has little to do, and her character borders on stereotypical.

Directed by Jimmy Hayward (who also did the wonderful Horton Hears a Who!), Jonah Hex is clumsy, choppy, and so poorly filmed that it's difficult to follow the action. The loud, heavy metal-esque music sometimes makes it difficult to hear the dialogue -- the dialogue that is audible is simplistic and annoying. The movie makes attempts to "update" the Western genre by adding modern fighting techniques and futuristic weapons, but these ideas just seem desperate. Ultimately, despite all the state-of-the-art weaponry, it's a total misfire.