Apache Junction (2021) Poster

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5/10
Incessant Background Music
jeepgirl2226 October 2021
The acting is fine. It's the background music. It NEVER stops!! There is music playing throughout the movie, in every scene and often makes dialogue difficult to understand. The music doesn't add to the drama, - it just annoys. Especially because it's really bad music. If I could have silenced it, I would have! I think I would have liked the movie more if that irritating, constant annoying music wasn't there.
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4/10
Somewhat slow paced and uneventful...
paul_haakonsen10 October 2021
Western movies have never really been my go-to type of movies, although every now and again I will sit down to watch one. And as I had the opportunity to sit down and watch Justin Lee's 2021 Western titled "Apache Junction", I did so, mostly because I saw that the movie had Thomas Jane on the cast list.

I will say that the storyline told in "Apache Junction" is pretty straight forward and easy to follow. However, it was so simplistic that it was sort of bordering on being a bit boring actually. Nothing much really happened throughout the course of the movie, so it was somewhat of an ordeal to sit through "Apache Junction" in all its entire run time.

The atmosphere in "Apache Junction" was good, and it definitely felt like you were there in a gritty frontier town back in day. And that particular atmosphere was adding a lot to the movie. Just a shame that the storyline itself was so mundane and rather uneventful.

Of all the actors and actresses on the cast list in "Apache Junction" then I was only familiar with Thomas Jane and Stuart Townsend. However, I will say that they definitely had put together a nice group of actors and actresses to portray the characters in the movie, and the performers did good jobs. Just a shame that they were somewhat hindered by an inferior script.

"Apache Junction" doesn't really have that archetypical Western feel to it, which was a shame, because it could have brightened up the movie in a much needed way.

While "Apache Junction" is watchable, it was hardly an outstanding Western movie, nor a particularly memorable one. And I actually doubt that I will ever return to watch "Apache Junction" a second time.

My rating of "Apache Junction" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.
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4/10
George Hearst's Paper
nogodnomasters5 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Annabelle Angel (Scout Taylor-Compton) travels to Arizona territory to get a story for The San Francisco Examiner in 1881. She is rescued from a group of soldiers by outlaw Jericho Ford (Stuart Townsend). The son of the local commander (Trace Adkins) was killed and now he wants Jericho Ford dead.

They give a back story of an Apache massacre by whites and how Jericho Ford killed the white men who did this. Oslo Pike (Ed Morrone) is the outlaw hunting Jericho. The production is a bunch of cliche scenes, stitched together for a story. Technically this town and story would be the origins of these tales. George Hearst appears to be the lone historical character in the tale.

Guide" No swearing, sex, and nudity.
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1/10
Another dud
jamesparsons939329 September 2021
Let me preface this by saying I've watched hundreds of westerns including some of the absolute lowest budget productions out there and I do not require good acting, high production value or any of that to enjoy a western. The problem with Apache Junction is its just another modern production with zero character. The direction is boring and the cinematography is non existent - lots of close in shots that are tight on the characters, something that was obnoxious 10 years ago & I'd hope would have fallen out of style by 2021. This movie is completely by the numbers & not in a good way. Its such a drag I tried 3 times to watch it and could not make it through.
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2/10
Waste of time and money
smokebender7 October 2021
If you're looking for a good western to watch, look elsewhere. Nothing is even close to realistic beyond the horses are actual horses. If you choose to see this movie, plan on asking for your money back.
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1/10
Horrible!
mrsmsg6 November 2021
Worst acting I've ever seen. Moves at a snail's pace...the acting is just so awful. I barely made it through to the end...which was also terrible. I'm so disappointed I paid $7.99 to watch this huge disappointment.
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2/10
15min story stretched to 90min
countrygent-6499225 October 2021
My father worked for Four Star Pictures in the late 50's at Apacheland in Apache Junction as a gaffer. He bummed around with the best of them and he would have walked out of this Trace Adkins dud with his #12 boot shoved...... Anyway, we have long ties with the town and it's real history is much richer, more varied and a helluva lot more interesting that a tired 5cent 1930's western movie script that was rewritten on a toilet tank 50 times before it made the 1 a week grind house pulp mill. I've come to expect that anything with Trace Adkins will be in the "Howard the Duck" rack at every truckstop, which is sad because he was just in Old Henry and thankfully his bit was short in that inexpensive masterpiece. I'm thinking Thomas Jane needed a paycheck, thats why this was done, and sadly why his roles have dried up.
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1/10
Boring is an understatement
Valid_ID6 July 2022
This 2021 movie was obviously cheaply made. The soundtrack is the worst, and IMO contributes the most to boring the viewer. The story is run-of-the-mill, and the evil guy looks like a nerd. A waste of cast, especially Thomas Jane could do much better than what he did in this movie.

As a side note, 2021 is the year of cheap movies sprouting like mushrooms. I guess we can blame the pandemic for that too.
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1/10
Get your money back
jartzh19 July 2022
Looks like somebody had college class project and access to a ghost town and 4 horses. But I don't think the dialog was written by a college student. Sounds like a high school drama group.

If you watched this from a free service then you got your money's worth. Otherwise you got cheated.
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2/10
Ridiculous
cornbread_oracle5 July 2022
Mouse-voiced piece of nothing 'girl bosses' her way through the Wild West. I don't know anything about anyone in this cast, except I understand Trace Adkins is a country music singer. So I had no expectations either way. The female protagonist is either miscast or cannot act at all. At least I THINK she was the protagonist; the plot is so thin and the dialogue so unbelievable that I gave up. All I know is that actress did not have the presence to pull-off convincing me that she could have held her own as a lone woman reporter braving the illustrious characters of the American Wild West. Speaking of which, the aforementioned country music singer was the only one of the male actors who had the aplomb to convince me he could have lasted half a day in the West himself. And he was marginal at best.

Don't get me started on the dialogue and costumes. You'd think doing period piece involves at least doing a modicum of research on the look and feel of time you're aiming to capture. Apparently not, as no effort seems to have been made here. All of the dialogue & costuming reads and too modern. At one point, after I'd lost interest, I looked up and thought hubby had changed to a modern show. Nope, same woman, sporting loose waves and modern make-up, drinking in a saloon with some cowboy. Granted, I'm no historian or re-enactor, but I'm pretty sure women in the later 1800s didn't look like they just stepped out of LA salon with a fresh blow out and collagen injections. This movie is beyond ridiculous.
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8/10
Not quite a 'typical' Western; very well done
tkarlmann26 September 2021
An unusual story, well acted, and the sets were VERY well done -- with one minor exception.

This is a simple film, but once you except that, the story is quite engaging and entertaining! The setting is as old and creaky as the Old West itself.

There are some attractive women here, as well as the craggy-looking men. Worth watching.

Things That Bothered Me: 1) With all the attention paid to detail in re-creating an old western town, you think they would have caught one glaring, but minor, oversight -- plastic poker chips! Get some of the older type next time, please! You can even hear plastic poker-chip rattle! 2) Typical in a LOT of movies and TV shows -- no one does any WORK -- to earn a living!

This film has an interesting pace -- it is very slow; but it is also purposeful, and I never got bored.

Worth your time!!!
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6/10
Give it a try
frank-liesenborgs24 October 2021
A story about an old West outpost of lawlessness with thieves, killers and gamblers.

Also a story about love, betrayal, sins and redemption.

When the San Francisco Examiner (at that time owned by US Senator George Hearst) reporter Annabelle Angel arrives in the outpost and gets harassed by a couple soldiers. Luckily for her infamous gunslinger Jericho Ford watches over Angel. The rest of the plot is quite predictable but does not hinder enjoying a no-brainer of a Western. The climax is also predictable but there is a nice twist at the end.

The characters' dress, talk, act, and looks corresponds with the impression they should create. The main actors all perform well. The dialogues could have been better.

If it is raining, go to the movie theatre and relax.
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2/10
Western with modern day characteristics
traceytak15 May 2022
It's not authentic. The women characters have modern day hair styles, highlights etc and the make up would not be available in that day. I sat watching it thinking how unlikely the characters looked for that era. It totally distracts from the slow paced film.
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3/10
A Lame, Saddle-Sore Western
zardoz-131 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Villainous varmints with smoking six-shooters proliferate in "Badlands" writer & director Justin Lee's lame horse opera "Apache Junction," starring Stuart Townsend, Scout Taylor Compton, Thomas Jane, and Trace Atkins. Clocking in at 94 lackluster minutes, this uneven, R-rated, saddle-sore sage brusher follows a clueless tenderfoot newspaper reporter who blunders into a notorious Arizona outlaw haven. Despite all warnings to the contrary, our intrepid heroine has come to this outlaw asylum to pen an expose for her San Francisco based newspaper about its dastardly denizens. No sooner has director Justin Lee introduced Miss Annabelle Angel (Scout Taylor-Compton of "Halloween") as the ostensible protagonist than he shifts the focus entirely to a gunslinger wrongly accused of murder and kidnapping who becomes a target for every bounty hunter. Basically, "Apache Junction" is a fish out of water western. The difference is the tenderfoot isn't a dude but a dame.

Unfortunately, our damsel-in-distress spends most of her time passively watching the guys shoot themselves full of bullet holes. Eventually, she wields a lever-action, Winchester model 1876 repeater and vanquishes a villain, then discards that 15-shot weapon and starts bawling.

Lee has scripted and helmed the kind of western that would prompt John Wayne to stand up in his grave and punch him in the nose. Interestingly, no Apaches terrorize anybody in "Apache Junction," while audiences must endure some of the most dreadful, archaic dialogue you've ever heard. Nevertheless, Lee stages an adequate number of shootouts that should satisfy the least discerning frontier aficionados. Meantime, veteran western fans will applaud those moments when the gunmen pause to reload their revolvers. Sometimes, even good westerns omit these awkward but authentic moments so as not to stall narrative momentum. Although "Apache Junction" pales by comparison with Unforgiven" (1992), "Silverado" (1985), or "Appaloosa" (2000), "Logan Fulton's widescreen cinematography makes this oater look in the same league.

"Apache Junction" unfolds in the Arizona Territory in 1881. Incidentally, though it has nothing to do with this western, 1881 was the same year Wyatt Earp and his brothers shot it out with Ike Clanton and his kin at the O. K. Corral in Tombstone. Before our newspaper correspondent's guide, Ebb Foliet (Edward Finlay of "2 Fast 2 Furious"), accompanies Annabelle into Apache Junction, they stop briefly at a nearby cavalry outpost. Miss Annabelle Angel isn't prepared for the icy reception that the army commandant, Captain Hensley (Trace Adkins of "Old Henry"), accords her. First, he specifies the only women in Apache Junction are hookers. Second, he explains "no respectable woman in her right mind ventures into these parts." Third, he warns Annabelle he cannot protect her from the myriad evils that lurk in Apache Junction. Finally, with an incredulous frown, Hensley asks, "And this stupid article is worth possibly being raped and murdered, shot, cut, or otherwise maimed in this godforsaken desert?"

Afterward, Ebb advises Annabelle to walk softly around Hensley and then escorts her into Apache Junction. Dressed more like an amateur Eastern schoolmarm than an ink-smeared, gimlet-eyed reporter, Annabelle emerges as a square peg in a round hole. Later, she finds herself at the mercy of three lascivious Army privates who have her cornered helplessly in a stable. Incredibly, she insists she was searching for a dried-up riverbed! Nervously, Annabelle brandishes a long-barreled Colt .45 Peacemaker. She can barely hold without shaking, and the leering soldiers disarm her with alarming ease. Ironically, one of these sneering ruffians is Captain Hensley's son (Nicholas Ryan), and he wedges a knife against her gullet when a stranger, Jericho Ford (Stuart Townsend of "Queen of the Damned"), interrupts them with a Winchester repeater. Later, a soldier lies to Captain Hensley that Ford not only murdered his ornery son but also kidnapped the journalist. Saddling up, Hensley rides into Apache Junction and puts a bounty on Ford. A depraved desperado, Oslo Pike (Ed Morrone of "Hellblazers"), cuts a bargain with Hensley. This unsavory, subhuman specimen of humanity persuades the vindicative captain to pardon him of his crimes if he kills Ford.

The gunmen in "Apache Junction" babble more often than shoot. The impromptu gunfights spawn little suspense or tension. Despite being a supporting character, Thomas Jane of "The Punisher" (2004) gives the best performance as a saloonkeeper armed with a shotgun who never sets foot outside his bar. Wearing a derby hat, Ed Morrone delivers the second-best performance as a despicable killer cadging for amnesty. Trace Adkins' imposing Army captain sits behind his desk more often than astride his horse. The worst thing about "Apache Junction" is once Ford intervenes on behalf of our tenderfoot heroine, Scout Taylor-Compton's naïve journalist languishes in the background. Initially, we're led to believe Annabelle will prove herself a formidable feminist when all she amounts to is another dewy-eyed, damsel-in-distress. Worse, Lee cheats the audience out of a grand finale. Hensley and Ford should have swapped lead in a showstopper of a shootout. Lensed on location during the COVID-19 pandemic, "Apache Junction" had to shut down production briefly. Sadly, the filmmakers were forced to abandon their scenic New Mexico locations and finish the film in California. Happily, Lee and company have achieved a seamless transition between two locales, so you'd never know that parts of the fictitious town of Apache Junction were photographed in two distant states. Unless you're a hardcore western completist, who watches westerns whether they qualify as 'good, bad, or ugly,' you should steer clear of "Apache Junction" and see a far better western like "Old Henry."
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2/10
I thought Apache Junction the city sucked....
frostbyte-180-14847315 November 2021
AJ is sort of a laughingstock city (for those who live outside of AZ). The idea that it inspired a terrible story like this is pretty funny, in fact it's the only reason I could make it to the end.
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5/10
Decent b western made by its component cast.
b_kite4 August 2022
The action is rather clunky, but the component cast, and good camera work and visuals make it a decent watch. Also, surely to God someone can find something better for Thomas Jane to do in 2022 Jesus Christ.
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5/10
It was only Ok
benstewartthehaven25 June 2022
Poor acting poor script but in saying that I did find it kind of funny and if they added a couple of funny moments they probably would've gotten away with it.

I'm a film lover and westerns are some of my favourite but this film was easy to watch with some very poor acting it wasn't one of the worst I watched but if you want a serious gritty good acting film this is fair from that.

I give it 5.
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2/10
Eh...
BandSAboutMovies29 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Apache Junction is a place for thieves and cold-blooded killers, not big-city reporters like Annabelle Angel (Scout Taylor-Compton, Laurie from the Rob Zombie Halloween films). Luckily, she finds that Jericho Ford (Stuart Townsend, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Queen of the Damned). But can she trust her life to a man with such a notorious past?

Writer/director Justin Lee (Final KIll, Big Legend and Hunters) brings this western film to your small screen, his third film in the genre after Badland and A Reckoning. And this time, he has Trace Adkins and Thomas Jane as a saloon owner named Al Longfellow.

So other than the cast, I can say that the locations look good and the film is competently made. As for the rest, well...I can recommend all manner of much better Italian westerns, if you'd like.

But hey - Trace Adkins playing a murderous U. S. Army man? I guess there's that.
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1/10
A snore fest made for the blind?
dannyrest15 November 2021
I love a good western but this was not even close to qualifying as one. Bad acting, bad script and far too many dumb mistakes for the time period.

Women with make-up that and multi-coloured hair that doesn't fit the era. Frosted hair tips and highlighting didn't exist yet for hair styles. They could have at least dyed their hair to be one colour for the movie. Square hay bales didn't exist until 1970's. There's far too many other out of place mistakes to list but these ones were the most obvious.

You really have to wonder how dumb or blind the target audience was supposed to be. If you are looking for a good movie or western then keep on looking. This movie was utter rubbish and unrealistic in every aspect.
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6/10
Just repeat after me - its only a movie
psteier28 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Enjoyable if you forget about reality.

Odd, highbrow, polite dialog from the characters and hardly any cussing.

Almost no blood despite all the killings until near the end.

Army Captain Hensley keeps a kerosene lamp burning during the day.

Mary Primm manages to find fresh vegetables in the middle of the desert seeming far from any railroad line.

Final scene of reporter Annabelle Angel and newspaper owner George Hearst has to be seen to be believed.
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6/10
Average Fair
tony-248-89123925 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Quite a good concept. Let down by the script and continuity. Amongst others a couple of cringe moments for me were when Jericho embaced his girl(Mary) enthusiasticlly and with great fitness using his left arm that he had been shot in twice, And the big one for me was when Oslo Pike said to Jericho I see you have brought your autobiographer (meaning Annabelle when she would only have been the biographer). This may be to show Oslo was an idiot however, and not to show up the Director but I doubt it.
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7/10
Recommended film
linnommt17 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I expected another oater but I was immediately caught up in the premise. It is kind of like a grimdatk western. No one is absolutely good or bad and the violence isn't gratuitous. It also reminded me of Unforgiven where actions have consequences. In the end, some people rise above their situation and others pay for their actions.
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7/10
A great story and well acted
jeffgardner708-121 March 2022
Don't believe the bad writeups on this film, this is a well photographed and a well written screenplay with good direction. I'm a western fan from way back and thoroughly enjoyed the movie, with a steady story that builds up to a very good conclusion. All the actors did a fine job, see this film if you can.
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