In a Valley of Violence (2016) User Reviews

Screw the haters, this is a real fine Western

[vcgraves · 7/10 · 25 January 2017]

If you are a fan of classic Westerns, you'll find yourself glued to the screen enjoying every minute of this film.

Disclosure: I am 62 years old as I write this, so I've seen 'em all. And watching this one, I couldn't help feel like it was 1967, or thereabouts, what with the steady camera-work, the superb cinematography capturing all the dusty glory of New Mexico, U.S.A.

And the soundtrack! Not some canned muzak, not some minimalist guitar scratchings, but a full-blown beauty of a musical composition that took me right back to the Spaghetti classics.

Now, this won't win an Oscar, but dang if it didn't make my Friday night popcorn and beer movie night.

"In A Valley of Violence" is a total winner. p.s....the dog is an unbelievably good actor.

a pleasure for genre fans

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 14 January 2017]

Considering this is basically what Ti West cooked up following a double viewing of John Wick and any given Sergio Corbucci flick, it's... really f***** good! Damn I'll just go ahead and say it: I was more entertained by this than John Wick (some of that I simply chalk up to Hawke being a more emotional and curious presence than Reeves, personal preference, and beyond the premise and some key moments it's not exactly the same as that).

This is no masterpiece or anything, and I don't necessarily think it was trying to be. West clearly loves this genre, and wants to do his own twist on it, which carries some especially graphic violence (if you had trouble with movies like The Thing, don't watch this), and some strong supporting work from Karen Gillan and John Travolta (the guy who plays Travolta's son, the real main bad-guy, is one note but the actor plays him for all his worth).

This kind of well-produced, surprisingly and wildly funny straight-faced homage western (especially near the super intense and, as the title says, violent climax, that threw me for a loop, such as everything with the one guy who protests being called by his nickname by John Travolta and demands to be called 'Lawrence') is something that pleases me. If it's ever on TV I'll stop and watch it. 7.5/10

A Fun Homage To The Spaghetti Western

[nebk · 7/10 · 23 October 2016]

In a valley of violence is a pretty low key western starring Ethan Hawke as an unlikely hero out to avenge the death of his beloved dog. This part of the plot sounds similar to John Wick but that's where the similarities end. Hawke is a drifter who ends up in a run down town controlled by the Marshall played by John Travolta. He has an altercation with the marshals son who is the town bully and is advised to leave town. Even though he does so he is still attacked and left for dead by the Marshall's son and his cronies who kill his only friend and companion Abby the dog. And from there the story becomes one of revenge.

From the opening credits and the music score it becomes clear that the director is a fan of the old spaghetti westerns. The story is pretty basic although what separates this movie from the old spaghetti westerns is that the hero at first tries to avoid confrontations. He just wants to be left alone. Even when he is pursued by a young girl running a hotel in the town. He is in fact not a brave hero but a mass murdering army deserter who left his wife and daughter to enlist in the army and never went back. The Marshall who is portrayed as the main villain also tries to prevent bloodshed till the very end and never actually kills anyone. Even the other villains in the movie are not typical gun wielding psychopaths and in fact most of the people shooting guns end up missing their targets most of the time. There is also some comedic dialogue between the characters as well as great scenes of the dog interacting with Hawke's character.

Overall this is a fun western movie that does not go for all out gunfights or bloodshed and yet there is still enough fighting in it so it does not get bogged down in dialogue. Ultimately the whole plot is basic and there is no real reason for what occurs other than the fact that someone was at a wrong place in the wrong time. A nice homage to the more dramatic westerns of the 60s and 70s.

A "Quick and Dirty" Review

[A_Different_Drummer · 7/10 · 21 October 2016]

(The title of this review in honor of the 1995 Sam Raimi flick "The Quick and the Dead," yet another director who decided to take the Italian Western genre out for a spin, wind her up, and see what she can do.)

Now it is Ti West's turn at bat, a director known for "fringe" pictures but, to be fair, this type of film probably qualifies as fringe too.

Although a great many directors (including, believe it or not, the great Tarantino and even Eastwood himself) have taken on the challenge of this genre, the truth is that Sergio Leone -- the man who invented the category -- is the only director in history to have fully mastered it.

(Have seen the Man With No Name trilogy a half-dozen times so far, and I am not done yet.)

Which does not mean -- as the other reviewers have already noted -- that the attempt, even if it falls short a mite, cannot be fun.

And this movie definitely qualifies as fun.

Hawke is a great choice, at the same time skittish, taciturn, and yet also strangely dangerous.

Travolta will always be Travolta. He has been playing the same role since Kotter, and audiences never get bored.

The most fun is watching Taissa Farmiga chew up the furniture. Clearly the young lady wants to show the world that she has her sister's acting chops, so she does not merely enter a scene, she attacks it and wrestles it to the ground.

In different circumstances, this strange brew might have missed the mark. But it didn't. Clearly West's main goal was to entertain.

And that is exactly what he did.

Horrible and humorous, just the way I like my Westerns.

[JohnDeSando · 2 November 2016]

"A town run by sinners." Priest (Burn Gorman)

Yep, Denton, Texas, is all that and more. It resides In A Valley of Violence, the titular warning to all of us that beside the dust, nothing is going to be pretty.

But don't be so gloomy, for this oater is a genre hooter, a tongue-in-cheek satire of the Western generously seasoned with absurdity and dark comedy. From the serious take of Clint Eastwood (think The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Unforgiven; or whatever) to Quentin Tarantino (think Pulp Fiction and The Hateful Eight), this Valley is temporarily governed by an ambivalent Marshal (John Travolta) and a stoic drifter, Paul (Ethan Hawke).

They are bound to clash as the Marshal tries to protect his lame-brained but hostile son, Gilly (James Ransone), from Paul's vengeance. Not so much because Gilly and the resident thugs employed by the Marshal are robbers or even lazy but because they have murdered Paul's ever-so- cute dog Abby (Jumpy).

Because that mutt is more adorable than The Artist's Uggie, we shift our sympathy immediately to him and forsake the humans. Talking about shifting realities, the town is set in Texas but filmed in New Mexico, whose landscape thankfully looks nothing like Texas's.

Writer/director Ti West, best known for horror films but just as much at home with this genre, has an especially good eye for the contradictions in the Marshal, who is a saint next to Gene Hackman's menacing Sheriff in The Quick and the Dead. But then, our hero Paul has his own contradictions, best to be enjoyed while watching the film, for character development is not West's primary goal.

No, he is interested in spoofing the Western while he crafts a blood and guts mini thriller. Along the way we can enjoy Jeff Grace's Morricone-like spaghetti Western music and titles and credits worth of the playful Tarantino and James Bond franchise.

He does this all to produce an enjoyable black comedy whose absurdity is in check while its comedy wins the day.

Hawke steals the show

[PetarNeo · 7/10 · 22 November 2016]

Paul is a man that is trying to leave everything and go to Mexico but on his way he encounters a drunk priest and passes through town Denton and manages to draw trouble to himself. Plot is very well developed allowing you to see that Paul is running away from something and has lost touch with world. After being challenged by Gilly and beating him up we are aware of his strength and capability. Then after being forced to leave town, he was followed by Gilly and his men. Killing his dog and trying to kill him obviously left his in agony and thirst for blood, he decides to go back in town. On way to town encounters priest one more time but he was so drunk that he didn't manage to shoot him so once more he got beat up by Paul. When he returned to town it was a cold blooded shoot out for every men except Gilly, he hang him and beat him eventually leading to Mary-Anne shooting him. Marry-Anne character is also incredible as she is young and wants to be taken care of but falling in love with Paul from the first moment she saw him. On the other hand Clyde, Gilly's father is a marshal that leads town that wanted to peace out with Paul and bring some reason to all and in doing so got shoot. Only bad part was when you are being shown flashbacks from Paul's past that was kind of poorly done and felt wrong. Ethan Hawke as Paul is absolutely amazing with his acting as well as Travolta with some long monologues and great dialogue. Others didn't quite fit and some gave not so good performances. Movie also uses a weird sense for humour it was absurd at times but sometimes gets it. Directing of the movie was fine there were some pretty good scenes with a lot of tension and script is at times amazing and sometimes fails to achieve it's true potential. Same goes for dialogues some were great and there were times when it was hard to listen them mostly because they were silly. Musical score was pretty good and well balanced. 2.5/4

An enjoyable modern Spaghetti-style Western

[asandor · 7/10 · 4 May 2017]

In a Valley of Violence stars Ethan Hawke as a wandering deserter, Paul, who happens upon the town of Denton. Run by a tough but fair Marshall, and his psychotic son and cronies, the town has seen better days. Paul is just looking to pick up some supplies for his journey to Mexico, but runs afoul of the Marshall's son. He tries his best not to become involved, but soon finds himself gunning for revenge in a town that needs saving.

This was a well made Western heavily stylized after many classic Spaghetti Westerns. It had many campy elements, and presented a lower budget sheen that really nails the Spaghetti Western feel. The acting was competently done, with some moments feeling cheesy and slightly comical, and others offering some heart. The direction was solid, with scenes, close ups, vistas and so on handled with care. The story itself was predictable, but far from bland. The relationship between Paul and his dog, Abbey, was especially well done. All in all, this was a fun and campy Western very much paying homage to the Spaghetti Westerns of the '60's and '70's. It is worthy of a watch for those interested in Western films, and certainly for fans of the more campy Spaghetti films.

The predictable valley

[Groverdox · 7/10 · 23 January 2017]

At least "In a Valley of Violence" is not as agonizingly predictable as the director's previous waste of time. I am someone who believes that a movie without one single moment you can't see coming after reading a one sentence, or even one word, description of the plot, is a movie you have no reason to watch.

How is it that you know the name Ti West? A guy whose movies are as formulaic as these should be directing episodes of Big Bang Theory. But he does do them well, and gives his superior actors room to breathe. The problem is that he "writes" these movies himself - if you can call stringing a bunch of clichés together "writing".

This is a movie that is so predictable that you don't notice the genre clichés that would have rubbed you wrong in a better movie, i.e.. the main character being the typical hard-bitten and reluctant hero type who doesn't say much, who never intended to draw steel but ended up being forced to. And how about the town being basically just two rows of houses with a "main street" running down the middle? Is there a "saloon" with rooms to rent upstairs? How about a plucky young heroine who dreams of escape and thinks the hero might be her ticket out? He doesn't take her at first. Of course.

No, it was the smaller details that rubbed me wrong. For example: before killing his first victim, why does the typically terse hero suddenly become insanely verbose, rabbiting on like someone who has truly lost control of himself? What was the point of the speech where he outlines exactly what he's doing as if it wasn't already completely obvious, not only to the audience, but also the victim? A less trite storyline might have needed an exposition dump here. Here it's just distracting and unnecessary. And when the bad guy has the plucky heroine up against the wall with a gun to her throat, and he begins threatening her, what does she do next? Her response is engraved in stone, alongside the "all towns in Westerns are just two rows of houses with a street down the middle" rule, in a tablet enshrined in the Screenwriters' Guild bathroom.

When the camera focused on the heroine's determined eyes in the climax, I cringed. This is West relying not only on cliché, but on the trend of the day: girl power.

Having read this far, you might wonder why I didn't give the film a lower rating. The answer is that for all the predictability, "In a Valley of Violence" has actors who you can't help watching and rooting for, especially Taissa Farmiga, one of the best young actors in the world, who gives this tired material more energy than it deserves.

spaghetti Wick

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 22 November 2018]

Paul (Ethan Hawke) is riding to Mexico with his dog Abbie. He's a former soldier who has had enough of violence after killing Indian civilians. In the town of Denton, he is challenged to a fight by braggard Deputy Gilly Martin (James Ransone). Only after Abbie is threatened, Paul decides to knock out Gilly with one punch. Ellen (Karen Gillan) is Gilly's equally annoying girlfriend. The only friendly face is Mary-Anne (Taissa Farmiga). Gilly's father Marshal Clyde Martin (John Travolta) pushes him to leave the town and he's happy to do so. Gilly and his friends catch up to Paul and kill his dog.

From the opening credits, this is trying to be a spaghetti western. The outlines of the genre is absolutely there. The problem is that everybody seems to be a bit off. Ethan Hawke is being too modern in his performance. He should really be the man with no name. As an actor, he's not great at being quiet. He's too fidgety. Compare this to Keanu Reeves in John Wick and that's what this needs. Ransone is too weak and doesn't pose a real threat. Karen Gillan is too silly. Taissa Farmiga is at least trying to do good work. Travolta is completely wrong. As I'm watching this, I keep thinking of how it could have been done right. The movie in my head is vastly better than the one on the screen.

My name is Lawrence

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 15 September 2017]

Paul (Ethan Hawke) is some specially trained soldier who has deserted his wife and daughter for "what he has done" to run off to Mexico with his dog. He makes a pit stop at the town of Denton where he is forced to beat up Gilly (James Ransone) the town bully and deputy and also son of the Marshall (John Travolta). Then through a series of circumstances this becomes a formula, cliché filled revenge film. Paul gets the help of Mary Anne (Taissa Farmiga) a talkative girl who has a thing for him. Karen Gillan who is top billed has a smaller role as her sister and girlfriend of Gilly.

This is not a great film, although I found it strangely entertaining, like watching a train wreak. The characters were written poorly and I wondered how these top names were coerced to make a film I would expect to see Eric Roberts. Ethan Hawke spends the entire film in a mental fog. The final killing was a formula "twist" that I saw coming from 30 minutes into the film. And what was with the dishonest preacher? (Burn Gorman) Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

This just falls completely flat

[torgrim-ruud · 2/10 · 27 November 2016]

I like Hawke in this role. He does a good job. In fact the whole cast does a good job.

This movie however is just written on napkin. It's like a class for writing where the teacher asks what are the main elements of western and then you tie a thin red string through that.

I do not understand why big names are in this movie at all. I thought perhaps maybe there was a national competition and that fresh out of school kids won and that the actors joined up for charity's sake.

There is however some humor in this movie. They sort of managed to make traditional western dialogue a bit cheeky. I managed to get through it, but I was questioning why the whole time. 3:10 to Yuma or True Grit are great movies. This does not make the cut.

A Well-Acted, Exciting Western

[SquigglyCrunch · 8/10 · 13 April 2017]

In a Valley of Violence follows a travelling cowboy who, after stopping by a small town, unintentionally starts conflict among the more powerful members there.

Let's start with the obvious part: Ethan Hawke. He's fantastic, as per usual. I don't think I've ever not been impressed by this guy, and that trend continues here. John Travolta pulls off a solid performance as well, playing one of the most interesting characters in the movie. And James Ransone does the same, pulling off a good ol' western hothead. Personally I don't think that Taissa Farmiga was very fit for this role, but she did her best and thankfully fails to take anything of significance away from the movie.

The writing is good as well. The movie builds the characters and conflict for a while before anything of real significance happens, and it makes it all the more effective. It excels at building tension, making the last 40 minutes of this movie just that much better.

Speaking of the last 40 minutes, they're awesome. After an hour of solid build up, we are treated with some great western action. It's tense and exciting, yet not over-the-top. It's just right.

Overall I really enjoyed In a Valley of Violence. The acting, writing, and action are all great, and in the end I would definitely recommend it.

Ethan Hawke vs. John Travolta

[chicagopoetry · 7/10 · 21 October 2016]

With In A Valley of Violence, Ti West takes the plot of John Wick and turns it into a western. Although this isn't as ultra-violent as the Keanu Reeves vehicle, the story is identical. Local boss' son kills the bad man's dog and the bad man gets revenge by killing everyone in his path. In this case, the reason there isn't such a huge body count is laughably because the town of Denton literally has only 9 residents living in it: the Marshal, his four deputies including his son, the two women, the bartender, and the general store manager. Oh yeah, and there's a preacher roaming around somewhere out there. Yeah, I know, quite silly. But silliness in this homage to spaghetti westerns is part of what makes it so enjoyable. It gets pretty intense at times too; it's by no means a comedy. What can I say? This is no Unforgiven but I enjoyed it all the same. If you like westerns and also like films that pay respect to film history, check this one out. You won't be disappointed.

Like a Tarantino film with the good parts removed

[gcastles-35417 · 3/10 · 3 November 2016]

This film looked promising until about halfway through, when it descended into mediocrity. The dialogue is poorly written, characters clichéd and action scenes predictable. If Tarantino had made it, it would at least have had good dialogue, but without that it is just a chore to watch.

Ethan Hawke plays a mystery man travelling with his dog through Texas to Mexico for some reason. Along the way he meets an array of unsavoury characters who insist on popping up again and again. You can predict their appearance well ahead of their arrival on screen every time. The dog is cute but performs so many cute tricks I wondered aloud if this was actually a kid's film. Nope, rated R. Shame really, since kids might not have seen all the various clichés 1000 times already and find this film more entertaining than I did.

If originality and creativity are not your thing, you might enjoy this film. Otherwise, proceed with lowered expectations.

It's alright

[Gordon-11 · 31 October 2016]

This film tells the story of a lone man who travels around with his dog in the cowboy country. The lone man stumbles upon a town where the son of the marshal picks a fight with him, leading to a series of bloody revenges.

"In a Valley of Violence" has a very simple and linear plot. The lone man is aggravated, there is revenge then more counter-revenge. The simplicity of the plot means that the pace is quite slow. I find the first half rather uneventful and lacks excitement. The second half picks up and is much better. I like Ethan Hawke's calm character, standing up to the son of the marshal, who is the local bully. The local bully evokes disgust as he is very unlikable.

I am not usually a fan of Western films, but "In a Valley of Violence" is alright to watch.

Nobody kills my dog and gets away with it

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 2 January 2017]

I can sympathize with Ethan Hawke in Valley Of Violence. As far as I'm concerned what he did was perfectly justified when someone tries to kill a pet. The key scenes in this film are Hawke just talking to his dog. It's clear that the animal is more to him than a stray he's taken in. It looks like Hawke's been devoid of human contact for some time while he's on the trail. And it could be he's not in the ordinary sense of the word, a good guy.

Neither however is Marshal John Travolta whose town Hawke has stopped in. He considers himself ruler of the place where he brought law and order emphasis on the latter. He's also got a son in James Ransone who is the Qusay Hussen to his Saddam.

Hawke who is just there to stop for an overnight rest before moving on is someone that Ransone decides to pick a fight with. After Ransone and his friends kill the dog and leave Hawke for dead, Hawke's taking names and numbers.

Elements of a lot of good westerns are present in Valley Of Violence. Two Clint Eastwood classics High Plains Drifter and The Unforgiven, the Burt Lancaster western Valdez Is Coming. You might also include the two John Wayne westerns Hondo and Big Jake since both involve the Duke and a dog. But the Duke was never as attached to his dog as Hawke is here.

Western fans should like Valley Of Violence. It sure is something different for John Travolta.

Slightly disappointing

[deloudelouvain · 6/10 · 21 January 2017]

For the fans of old spaghetti westerns In A valley Of Violence will do the job I guess. I did like those movies when I was young and would probably still like them if I watched them again. But I had higher hopes for this movie. Especially with the cast. Ethan Hawke & John Travolta together in a western I thought it had some promises. The beginning credits are all promising. Back to the roots of spaghetti westerns, but the movie itself lacks a bit of je-ne-sais-quoi. The story is very predictable with the good retiring killer meeting the bad villains in a terrorized city in the middle of nowhere. And of course at one point there is revenge. Like I said it's very predictable and not very original. Add on that that the acting could have been much better and you get just a movie worth watching once. I won't watching it a second time like I do with other classics in this genre.

Fast Moving

[nickyb-79131 · 6/10 · 23 October 2016]

And I mean fast. The whole film felt shorter than an episode of the Simpsons, and after all this all happens over the space of a couple of days. The sheer speed in which the movie goes through the stages may well be a testament to the screenplay or editing, not sure which. Much of it especially the first half seemed very clichéd with the new stranger "just passing through" a dead-end town. Very reminiscent of the classics of the Clint Eastwood era but with less grit. As enough time has passed since those movies I guess this can now be considered as an ode. Even the soundtrack/coincidental music is comparable to classic westerns.

Hawke, as usual, plays the loner well and Travolta can't but help play his part with some wryness. It is just the whole movie passes by so fast I barely apprehended any interactions other than Travolta and Hawke. The film coulda shoulda been longer. Cinematography is nothing special but has definitely been made for the big screen more than home viewing. I was expecting a lot more laughs for this was marketed as being set in a town of nitwits yet the supporting cast were ordinary with the exception of the two sisters who had very attractive qualities and a touch of kookiness.

All in all a movie made for lovers of classic westerns. Not in the same league as Eastwood's Western's or The Quick and The Dead for that matter. Neither as original as films like Cowboys and Aliens or The Warriors Way but this movie is not trying to be.

Not As Good Or Violent As Expected

[isantistao · 6/10 · 24 July 2022]

This is not a bad movie. It's actually pretty good. Just pretty good though. It's not as good as I expected. It's a lot slower and more boring than I was expecting. And a lot less violent. It's not really that violent at all for a movie with its title. So don't watch this if you are looking for a shoot em up action flick or you will probably be disappointed like I was.

Slow and predictable.

[bxhanx · 4/10 · 10 November 2016]

While this movie isn't as bad as it tried to be, it's still not great.

The plot is slow moving and predictable. I know it was supposed to be made, based very loosely, on Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns but it's not even close to that level. Besides, Eastwood never told anyone his name in the movies, you just saw the tombstone.

From the time Gilly starts harassing him in the bar, you know exactly what is going to happen. You can predict scene after scene and it brings nothing special to the screen.

Ethan tries hard to look the part with his eyes and his gravel voice is decent but as for the other non-speaking action from Travolta to Ransone, it's severely lacking. Travolta could have been a little more convincing if he had tried but this looked like a half-ass attempt at acting in his first western.

I don't know what they were thinking with the flashback scenes and it was confusing. He says he left his wife and child but you see a dead woman and child in a flashback. He says he's a killer but obviously he's not in the sense of the old westerns.

The flashbacks were so poorly approached that I had to fast forward the movie through them because of the way they were filmed, looking like someone was holding a bad flashlight, it was hard to follow along and try to see what the director was trying to convey.

Finally, the cliff scene is so unbelievable it's unfathomable. They throw a man off a cliff and he survives, walking fine, no problems, etc. He obviously hit rock and fell through some brush so you'd think he would at least have a few scrapes and bruises but there isn't anything there to indicate he had been thrown down a cliff.

I don't mind the wasted time watching the movie once but I won't watch it again.

The John Wick of Westerns

[lynsay-29851 · 7/10 · 30 May 2020]

Simple rule, you kill my dog, I kill you. PERIOD!

Man what is it with all the dog killing in movies? Stop it! My heart bleeds every time that happens. So im glad he kills all those nasty people

Want a honest review, read this

[dgefroh · 3/10 · 25 November 2016]

I find it so frustrating to read review after review hailing these fringe movies and leading the movie goers astray. I've no financial interest in any of the movies I review, I tell it like it is for the typical movie goer with hope that my honest appraisal is what you are seeking.

Now to this movie.....Ti West wrote & directed this movie, so what! Who's he? My 11 year old grandson could of written as good a script as this want-a-be spaghetti western. If for any reason you are going to watch this movie because Ti West is involved just forget it, if this is an example of his movie making, maybe he should try another profession because good film making is NOT his thing.

Well what about the acting you ask? Terrible comes to mind, pathetic also fits in nicely. Whatever possessed John Travolta & Ethan Hawke to tie their wagon to this is beyond me. Both of those guys were better before, obviously they've either fallen on hard times and good roles don't come their way anymore or else they are broke and sold their acting soul for the almighty dollar. The entire cast over acts, maybe it's the writing, I think it's that deadly combination of terrible acting and even worst writing.

I love western movies, I'm always looking for good ones to watch. While the story was corny, the acting horrid, the dialog was stupid, and the out-come predictable, the movie was watchable. I did not fast forward any part of this one, I sat through it all right to the bitter end. I think the reason why I was able to endure this movie is only because I do like western movies and this one kind of fits the bill.

When you are deciding if you should watch this movie or not, I'm hopeful my review at least sets the table for you. Unless you are a die-hard western fan, I'd say take a serious pass on this want-to-be movie.

Good bloody western

[851222 · 8/10 · 27 December 2016]

Greetings from Lithuania.

"In a Valley of Violence" (2016) made with by ~ 8 actors and on a budget ~20 times smaller then "The Magnificent Seven" (2016) which i saw recently, is like ~4 times more involving and better then "The Magnificent". And basically they both have very similar premises, but boy oh boy what do more compelling writing and directing can make for a final result - film itself. Its not that "In a Valley of Violence" is a perfect film, its not, but loved its ~45 min. highly and after i understood where everything is moving to and i didn't get any surprises from that point, i still was involved into this simple and many times already seen story. This is what good movie making is all about.

Overall, "In a Valley of Violence" isn't original, nor it is highly superbly made, but it gives to you exactly what it promises - a good old fashion western with some blood and etc. Its far from great, but it is a pretty good one.

Decent western

[rambo-91791 · 7/10 · 18 October 2021]

Haters giving it a 1 rating Is absolute nonsense Good western.

Good acting' Would recommend it.

A solid 7 I gave it.

It's not amazing but it's a good watch.

Dreadful

[david-lagraffe · 2/10 · 13 June 2017]

This movie is terrible. The dialogue is completely incongruous with the 'characters '. Completely predictable, lacking any suspense or interest. The only redeeming feature except to laugh at is some decent music. I can't believe Ethan Hawke and John Travolta made this movie. It is almost as bad as Battlefield Earth.