The Way of the West (2011) User Reviews

The Way of the West

[realfandangoforever · 5/10 · 16 February 2018]

My love of westerns, and being Canadian, are likely influencing my opinion of this film. Also known as The Way of the West, The Mountie contains a few flaws and some poor make-up but, overall, I enjoyed it. I found this film refreshing because of the Canadian content and the appearance of the red serge wearing Wade Grayling (Andrew Walker), a Member of the Northwest Mounted Police. I especially loved the unique behaviour of Wade's horse, Halifax, during one scene (I'm trying not to give it away). As westerns go, I found this particular scene new and, as a result, fun. On a negative note, I hate when Wade, knowing he is in danger, doesn't behave as so. After being caught one time without his revolver, you'd think the Mountie would adjust his level of officer safety? Oh well, just let it go. As a matter of fact, if you can let a few things go, you may appreciate this film as well. Especially if you're Canadian.

The way of the Yukon

[BurntEloi · 25 July 2011]

I have to admit that the alternate (USA DVD) title "The way of the west" doesn't speak to the movies content. I am certain the only reason they created an alternate title for USA distribution is because "The Mountie" or "Way of the Yukon" or some similarly Canadian title would have little meaning or frame of reference for American viewers. Having said that, I can see how it being in IMDb's category Westerns could be a bit misleading and probably why other reviewers were disappointed. I wouldn't really drop it into the drama category either.

The cinematography is predictably well done, and given the raw nature of the Canadian Territories there are some great backgrounds. I agree that the lead actor (Walker) really does lay on the Clint Eastwood a bit thick. And unnecessarily so. he could have pulled off the role just as easily and likely more believably in a less strained manner.

As for continuity, I had no problems following the story line. I might question the historical accuracy of opium cultivation (which seems to be implied) in the Yukon, but there definitely was an opium trade. One also has to take into account that the story basically takes place in the middle of nowhere so character interaction is limited to the few people in the camp (its not a town).

I found the writing competent and the story engaging. I often shy away from Canadian movies due to their track record in terms of quality, but I didn't find The Mountie disappointing. It not a masterpiece either, but it is entertaining. The cast was well placed and the performances believable. Some familiar faces with Jessica Pare (who was awesome in "Suck"), Pastko and Buza.

All in all its worth the rental fee, I won't be adding it to my DVD collection, but it was enjoyable enough for me. I give it a 6/10. Just don't expect "Hang "em high".

Let me get my feather quill out...

[natashabowiepinky · 3/10 · 30 March 2014]

In 'honour' of the woeful poetry a little girl reads out at regular intervals in Way Of The West, or The Mountie, or The Ranger, or whatever they're calling it these days, I thought I'd compose my own dreadful little ode:

Clichés abound No Surprises in store This Film Is a plodding bore

Good guy with white horse Baddies on black Colour coding This movie doesn't lack

The hero here Is totally vanilla No personality traits Dialogue just filler

The tedium extends To the shoot outs Stay awake? I have my doubts

But before I take My blessed nap Let me warn you Of this piece o'crap

It's in the 99p shop Taking up space Just ignore it and leave With a smile on your face

There we go. Wordsworth, Hughes, Byron... you better watch out... 3/10

It starts promising but it goes downhill very fast

[deloudelouvain · 3/10 · 14 January 2016]

I suppose this movie was made for television. And even for television it is not good enough. It starts okay but the further you get into the story the clearly it becomes that this is a mediocre movie. The last half hour is even disastrous to me. The script is not good at all, the actors are mediocre, their lines are so cheesy you wonder who comes up with something like that. The only good thing about this movie is some nature landscape shots. For the rest I would avoid this as the pest. The good reviews it gets on here are clearly written by people that had something to do with the movie. And those reviewers will fool you. They prefer lying then telling you they failed. Don't waste your time with this one.

Mediocre attempt by the Canadian movie industry

[daletheminoltaman · 3/10 · 23 September 2011]

By Canadian standards I am sure this could be considered a work of art, by the rest of the worlds standards it was "meh". This movie appears to be a feeble Canadian attempt at an American "western" type movie, it even has a quite humorous "Canadian Clint Eastwood". I suppose if you go into the movie knowing this and expecting to be a typical "Canadian movie" with a simplistic plot, predictable storyline and less than average actors you will not feel as if you wasted your time. It is not bad for something to do when bored on a Sunday afternoon. If you are a pretentious Canadian however I would expect you would be very excited to see this "film" and it would be a special event in your life ;) I have seen worse movies but I have most certainly seen BETTER. Give it a shot, as long as you do not spend more than $1.00 to view it then you should be okay with the time you gave to watch this movie.

Awful and nonsensical.

[biancob-16702 · 1/10 · 17 November 2019]

Awful and nonsensical. Waste of time. Makes no sense.

Under-rated

[rgcustomer · 7/10 · 7 December 2011]

It's not often that I praise Canadian film, particularly when it's funded by the usual scoundrels Astral and the like... yet this has actually been a good year, and I'm having to rethink.

This is a good film, and certainly deserves more than the absurd 4.8 it currently gets on IMDb.

Let's get the bad out of the way:

The childish sing-song poetry narration was annoying. It seems there entirely to pretend that this is a movie for Canada's schoolkids. I guess if this shows up in schools, we'll know if it worked.

And whoever decided the fonts to use for "The End" and for the opening and closing credits (except the scrolling ones) knows nothing about fonts and should be kept as far away from a keyboard as possible.

And what magical property does fire have, that it knows it should only burn the poppy field, and then stop?

It's not clear why Wade had to shoot his horse. Presumably, the horse was wounded, but I don't recall ever seeing that happen.

Finally, it should have been made clear why gold made the river smell, and why people were falling ill. Was it sulphur?

That's a lot of nitpicking. But aside from that, the truth is that this is a good western, comparable to 60s spaghetti westerns. What makes it unique is that it's in a Canadian context (Yukon Territory), and of course it's filmed with current techniques which allow for a bit more (but not too much) gore.

It's a quiet film, which draws you into the story, characters, and landscape. I never once doubted Andrew Walker's portrayal of Wade. The cinematography is great. And the short running time (less than 90 minutes) is perfect for the story they're telling.

I look forward to more like this, but with a bit more fine tuning.

Canada is NOT the U.S.

[davidfurlotte · 8/10 · 10 August 2011]

To the American reviewer who thought it was a poor western movie, I would agree, it was a poor American Western movie, however, this is NOT the United States.

Firstly, let's get a few facts straight. There was no Chinese opium den IN that settlement that the Mountie showed up at in the beginning. That was a flashback to what got him a year in the stockade. He got drugged up, picked up his gun when the little girl came to tell him about what was going on and shot up a bunch of Chinese bad guys. A year and a bit later, the Northwest Mounted Police dispatch his butt up to the Yukon territories (Part of Canada) to survey the best location for a new police outpost. (They called it a fort to placate the States)

**********************SPOILERS************************

The Mountie managed to figure the whole thing out because he was concerned the people were getting sick. It was a hotbed of crime going on in that small settlement with former miner turned priest to cover all the bad stuff he was doing, running the place.

Then you had a bunch of guys that were trying to take over, hence the need to grow opium to keep them away from what was REALLY going on.

Oh, incidentally, MANY people from Russia, the Ukraine and Latvia settled in Canada and to be blunt, many would prefer the Yukon territories simply because it was a land closer to where they came from. So, not that big a stretch to have Russians and Latvians up there.

Our main character doing a bad Clint Eastwood and the flashback bit about the Chinese being a little too confusing made me take away points from this movie but all in all, a very WELL DONE movie that is more than worth your time to watch. ENJOY!

Beautifully done

[jfrentzen-942-204211 · 9/10 · 25 July 2011]

This fine movie recounts what it must have been like when the new Canadian nation was "taming" its outback. It is a classic western tale in that sense, but the movie tells an interesting and unique story without being sentimental in the mode of so many other westerns. What is most striking is how the surroundings of the river and the Yukon setting becomes just as much of a character in the film as the humans --mostly represented by a small band of Latvian settlers whose shantytown construction is at odds, visually, with the surroundings, and who have struggled rather unsuccessfully against the elements. The hero, a Canadian Mountie, arrives just in time to come to their aid as it looks grim for the settlers' survival. Interestingly, the Mountie is depicted as a human representation of the setting and is carefully integrated into the landscape and respects it. Contrast this with the settlers, whose exploitation of the Yukon's natural resources for profit becomes the movie's moral pivot point and the plot's turns and twist proceed from there. The film is excellent social commentary on how civilization or Progress must integrate with the land -- in this case, the rugged mountain "character" -- or face extinction.

The themes of loyalty and betrayal figure into the mix, as well, giving the filmmakers ample room to explore the humanity of those caught up in survival in such a beautiful but stark and violent panorama.

Really more of an opera without music

[anchor-9 · 9/10 · 18 October 2017]

What? You know that something went wrong in marketing a movie if it has 3 titles on an internet search. The Mountie, the Lawman, Way of the West. Perhaps the first is the best.. but there goes any chance of a US audience. Maybe it would have been better to keep that title and market it with subtitles to a world audience.

Comments from others indicate they were expecting an American Western which it is not. Some can't get the mix of cultures. Well, the film is set shortly after Alaska was acquired from Russia; and guess what- the land was sparsely populated. FYI Yukon almost 150 years on still has a total population under 40,000 in a land area approaching that of Texas.

Awful poetry read by a child? Well, the words are those of Robert Service, the unofficial poet of historical Yukon. If I had expected a "Western" I would have been disappointed. But thankfully I had a review from The Toronto Globe and Mail appear thanks to Google which was intriguing. Google it under "The Mountie".

Looking for an "operatic" theme movie more in the tradition of Quebec cinema. This is it.

Human Greed and corruption among the gorgeous backdrop of the Yukon

[rmink53787 · 8/10 · 21 July 2011]

The absolute beauty of the Yukon Mountains give this moving tale of mans corruption and greed an almost surreal effect. The director (S. Wyeth Clarkson) has taken the time to interchange the brutality of a greedy encampment of Russian criminals intent on basically enslaving a poor mining camps inhabitants with the stunningly gorgeous background of the Yukon mountainous region.A Mountie (expertly portrayed by Andrew Walker), rides in to the rescue in the complete wilderness to save the day in the timeless tradition of the NorthWest Mounted Police Fashion. Breaking the movie into pieces just enough to perfectly not draw the audience away from the main plot to show the Mountie has an accomplice that was persuaded by opium and punishment to fall from grace, seemingly waiting on the same Mountie to save him from himself. An absolute pleasure to watch if you love the Beauty of the Wilderness and an excellent story comprising Man's honesty and integrity to shine through when all else is hopeless. I will watch this movie many times more, and I would urge anyone to give it a preview as the entire cast plays their parts perfect, without flaw.

Made by a fan of Westerns clearly...

[Robert_duder · 26 July 2011]

If you took The Mountie and added director Sergio Leone, made the Mountie a Texas Ranger or the like played by Clint Eastwood (instead of a Canadian doing his best Eastwood impression), added in Lee Marvin just cuz and you would have had a kick butt 1960's spaghetti western. Instead The Mountie was slapped together on what was certainly a shoe string budget, and made uniquely Canadian. That term kills more than one Canadian movie or Television show. The trailers make the film look like a Canadian Unforgiven about a Mountie out for vengeance and justice but they don't add in the fact that the film attempts some remnant of drama with the action and it just doesn't work. The film feels forced and silly, however historically accurate it might be the addition of the Russian characters seems almost ridiculous. Given the shoe string budget some of the action scenes are brutal and well made and the setting and cinematography work very well. However, and whether or not this was an issue with the theatre I saw it in or not the film is very dark, poorly lit and the sound effects on the weapons was horrible. It just sounded poorly shot.

I'm sure I have seen star Andrew Walker in other things but I can't place him if I have. He has a varied resume. He isn't bad in the film and he carries it well but the problem is that he spends the entire film channelling some low budget version of Clint Eastwood. I would rather have seen him do his own thing rather than copy a cowboy. Jessica Paré is the woman with the scar and a lot of baggage that unfolds throughout the film. Her story is interesting, her performance is not. She has a deer in the headlights look through the whole thing and has very little chemistry with Walker or anyone else in the film unfortunately. Her character is a means to an end. George Buza is a virtual whose who of Canadian talent. He's been in some of the best cult classic shows and films of the last three decades. (I can't believe he was Turner Edison from Maniac Mansion for those of you that remember.) He does a decent job as the lead villain in the film although it comes across as a little campy which works for the whole western rip off angle. In her first role Kestrel Martin might steal the whole show as the little girl who becomes enamoured with the Mountie and he takes her under his wing. The mute girl is practically the best character in the film and the only one you will feel connected too. I don't mean to downplay the supporting actors but they are mostly fodder for the Mountie and they don't stand out on their own.

Apparently director and co-writer Wyeth Clarkson is a respected Canadian film maker. This is the first I have seen of his and heard of him. Clearly he loves westerns even if he denied it. I see his heart and passion and where he wanted to go with this...but in cinema its not the thought that counts. It just felt like an enormous part of what should have been in place in the film was missing. You can't even refer to this as uniquely Canadian although it was filmed in the Yukon but outside of that nothing makes it different from the aforementioned Western. Unless you're really a sucker for indie films there isn't any reason to see this. I've taken the bullet for you and while I wasn't disgusted with it, I would never go out of my way to see it again. 6/10

Pretty good actually

[james5731 · 8/10 · 4 February 2020]

I was surprised actually how good the movie was. Scenery was awesome. The acting was pretty good and Pare is drop dead gorgeous even with the fake scar on her cheek. I will say that the movie did seem like a Clint Eastwood movie with a smaller budget. Check it out on Amazon prime. 👍🏼👍🏼

Unambitious and Poorly Made

[imfinished · 15 September 2011]

The first thing you have to know is that the summary for this is not only poorly written, but also fairly inaccurate. It doesn't really matter, however, as the summary only vaguely sets up the fact that there's a Mountie (obvious) and he has to fight some bad guys (also obvious). So the fact that the summary still manages to be so inaccurate is kind of baffling.

As for the movie: It's a pretty good looking film almost by default because of the beautiful barren landscape where it takes place. The tone here is melodrama all the way and its effect is intensified by the wooden performance of the lead. He delivers every line with the same tone and appears to be the proud owner of a single grim expression. The rest of the cast aspires to broad clichés, to match the stilted dialogue. None of them bother to generate any chemistry as the effort probably seemed pointless for a film made of such tired beats and scenes.

There are many poor choices here. We've got villains who seem to think every act of violence they commit is worth a mean chuckle. A woman who is shot in the chest, so at the end you see she now has to walk with a crutch. A child doing several mind numbing recitals of Robert Service.

Basically, this is an uninspired and unambitious film that doesn't even succeed at what it attempts. Quite disappointing.

Fantastic Canadian film on par with The Outlaw Josey Wales

[rrcharpe · 10/10 · 3 August 2014]

This incredibly good and very entertaining movie has three titles: Lawman, The Way of the West and The Mountie. What the heck ever its called its the best thing to come out o Canada in many a year. Straight forward but without sentimentality it tells the story of Western Canada in its lawless years when the British Columbian province was full of Russians, who brought their Cossack mentality with them. The brutality shown in the film is appropriate to the situation that the people find themselves in. I have read most or all of the reviews on this film and I feel there is a prejudice against Canadian film-makers by Americans who perhaps were looking for more of a Clint Eastwood take on this story, but this is the wilds of Western Canada in the late 1800s or perhaps early 1900s, I don't think it is mentioned. The man playing the Mountie is excellent and the woman with the scar is a great actress who says a lot just with her eyes. The casting in this movie was fantastic. If you want a great movie to watch this is the one. I don't work for anyone associated with this movie and I live in California and am a Nam vet so I have seen violence. I recommend this movie above almost any other Canadian movie I have seen. StocktonRob

Good period piece.

[jamalking15 · 8/10 · 15 April 2021]

Same things happen all over the world. Corrupt men, taken advantage of good people.

And the few who must stand in the gap and risk their lives for freedom.

Great musical score, adds a completing touch to this story of determination under the brutality of corruption.