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Gunfight At Rio Bravo DVD Review

“Gunfight At Rio Bravo” is a noble failure.

Inspired by the life of Ivan Turchaninov, 2023’s “Gunfight At Rio Bravo” is a western film set in East Texas in the year 1873. The story follows the aforementioned Ivan (a Russian gunslinger and former General) as he strolls into the small town of Blind Chapel. While there he meets some of the locals and encounters a Marshall and a Deputy who are stopping off with the captured gang leader Ethan Crawley while en route to San Antonio. Unfortunately, Ethan’s gang (the Hellhounds) are trying to free Ethan which puts everyone’s lives at risk. 

Directed by Joe Cornet (who also stars) and scripted by Craig Hamann, “Gunfight At Rio Bravo” is an ultra low budget indie western that was acquired by Shout! Studios. Cornet, who is no stranger to indie westerns, deserves credit for keeping the genre alive as there is clearly still a market for westerns, but alas his latest effort suffers from a lack of talent. 

Cornet himself is far and away the most talented person here both in front of and behind the camera. His performance as Sheriff Kelly is the most respectable in the film and he does the best he can as a director despite some obvious budgetary shortcomings. Alas, everything surrounding him just falls flat. The all too familiar story is simplistic and lacking character depth, the acting is extremely rough (more on that shortly), the action is clumsy, and the CGI is atrocious. The most compelling part of the entire story is the post-credit history lesson (which also teases a sequel for better or for worse).

Going back to the acting, it’s amateurish to put it kindly. Former Mr. Universe Alexander Nevsky is supremely miscast and awkward as Ivan. He plays the role more like a Terminator than a western era gunslinger. Lee Dawson is comically over-the-top as the hysterical Mayor while Olivier Gruner (Marshall Carter) and Matthias Hues (Ethan Crawley) are uneven in their respective roles. Kerry Goodwin and Natalie Denise Sperl don’t have a ton to do but are solid enough.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.35:1. Grade: B

Audio Track: Dolby Digital 5.1. Grade: B

Extras include “Gunfight At Rio Bravo” trailer and a making of featurette with film clips, interviews, behind-the-scenes photos

January 9, 2023 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | Gunfight At Rio Bravo (2023), Gunfight At Rio Bravo DVD Review, Shout! Studios, Western Movie