Iffy for 14+
Dumb, violent action Western totally misfires.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Jonah Hex -- a disappointing action Western based on a comic book hero created in the early '70s -- is very violent. Hex acts mostly out of revenge (killing many without remorse), and the body count is high, though there's relatively little blood and gore. There are some spooky images connected to the movie's supernatural elements, plus many weapons and scenes of things burning and exploding. The female lead, a prostitute, is seen wearing skimpy lingerie throughout the movie (which may be enough to draw in some fans of actress Megan Fox...), andthere's the suggestion of sex. Language is on the light side, and there's not much drinking.
- Families can talk about the movie's violence. Is this kind of violence necessary to tell the story? How did it make you feel?
- Is Lilah's character a stereotype? Why or why not? What does it say about her that she can take care of herself?
- What distinguishes Hex from Turnbull? Both kill people; whyis one a hero and one a villain?
The good stuff
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Messages: The hero's main motive is revenge. He kills lots of people -- they're implied to be "bad," and he doesn't seem to have any remorse. His one selfless act is to put down his gun to save Lilah's life.
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Role models: Hex is the "hero" and Turnbull the "villain," but one character calls them both monsters. Acting out of revenge, Hex kills without hesitation. Although Lilah is a tough girl who can handle herself, she's also a stereotypical prostitute character and isn't satisfied until she "gets" her man.
What to watch for
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Violence: Intense violence on all sides -- characters are shot, stabbed, slapped, chopped, and burned, and the body count may be in the dozens. Jonah Hex shoots all kinds of guns -- including Gatling guns and a special kind of crossbow gun with flaming arrows -- and he kills many people, onscreen and off. The villain obtains an explosive weapon that blows up entire towns, and his henchmen use everything from guns to knives to dynamite. In one scene, Hex watches, helpless, as his wife and son are burned alive. Lilah is slapped around but mostly stands up for herself.
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Sex: Lilah is clearly a prostitute, and she wears skimpy lingerie throughout the film, but her job and the act of sex are never mentioned out loud. She sees several male clients, who are shown on their way in to see her or after they're done; all are fully dressed. Some innuendo. Lilah is seen in bed with Hex; she's clothed and he's shirtless. She touches his chest, and they kiss.
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Language: The dialogue is often hard to hear over the movie's mayhem, but an exclamation of "Jesus Christ," plus words like "bastard," "hell," and "ass."
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Consumerism: Not an issue
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: Hex is seen drinking in a bar, with no obvious effect. A Native American medicine man blows smoke to heal Hex's gunshot wounds.
Fan Reviews provided by
1
Five Word Review by xsv_702
A Complete waste of time
3
a cool supernatural twist to the western genre by This fans fa you
unfortunately nothing more than mediocrity. James Hayward who directed "Horton Hears a who" should of put more time in plot and character development. Josh Brolin was good in his role as Jonah Hex as well as John Malcovich and Michael Fassbender. Megan Fox was alright.The supernatural cowboy who can tlk to the dead, that was cool. Revolving guns on horse back was outrageous to me, but cool as well. All in all, just another shoot em up western, good popcorn movie, perfect rental. A little unique, could of been a classic if it had better direction, felt a little rushed as well. ciao!
4
Jonah Hex by oldapple
I liked the film. It was an entertaining movie and had a good story line. Definitely full of action. I think teenagers would enjoy this movie.
2
The movie was really a so-so.... by lovestalentmoviefan
...but I am rating NO because I think you would really be ticked if you spent theatre price money on this! I was pretty pumped,even though I think one of the female leads,no names,(haha) can't act. The concept just sounded unique and I am a major Malkovich,minor Brolin fan.But someone just picked up various pieces of film in editing room to put together.Dialogue was too sparse for the most part. Malkovich was good,but it was a sleep through for him. Brolin,really good,just,again no real cohesive script. Lady in question,as empty as expected. pretty clean though. Really wanted to rate this high. Be careful
3
Just okay.... by alwaysele
Jonah Hex...better than I expected. But I do think that this is one of those movies that you can watch from home. There are decent graphics, decent action...but it's just not one of those movies that you have to watch on the big screen.
4
Five Word Review by SMORGER
Diffrent kind of Western Liked-it!
4
Pretty great! by FINSUP21
I was looking forward to this movie since i saw the previews in theaters. It disappointed a little bit because Megan Fox wasn't in it as much as it made her out to be. Other than that, it was action packed and a great story line! I LOVED IT! :)
4
Could have been better by Djv05
Josh Brolin did a terrific job in the title role! However, there seems to be too much editing that took place, leaving a few morsels of a movie, and little explanation of key details. The ending seemed forced and rushed. I hope the DVD release offers a fuller version of what could have been a great movie.