“Blackthorn” attempts to be a worthy sequel to the classic western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” but sadly falls short of that lofty goal.
The film tells the story of Butch Cassidy (Sam Shepard, “The Notebook”) after the notorious outlaw supposedly escaped his final standoff with the Bolivian army and lived for 20 years under the alias James Blackthorn to raise horses in Bolivia. He decides to return to America to find his remaining family, getting caught up with a young outlaw named Eduardo (Eduardo Noriega, “Vantage Point”) on the way.
Those who enjoy westerns for their vistas will not be disappointed. “Blackthorn” is as beautifully shot as you’d expect it to be, most notably Bolivia’s unique salt flats, which host that classic shot of watching your enemies approach on horseback from miles away.
“Blackthorn” adds an extra layer of grit typical of modern westerns, and even Shepard’s warm, if enigmatic performance cannot stop the film from feeling too heavy. Rather than taking the wit and excitement of classic westerns as a movie like “True Grit” does, “Blackthorn” moves at a reflective, glacial pace, putting the focus more on Cassidy in his old age rather than his adventures. Were there more depth to Blackthorn’s character, this substitution might have been more successful.
The action scenes are mostly quick, measured encounters rather than epic gunfights, which suit the film quite well. There’s always a sense that Blackthorn is still a master outlaw, always able to outgun his pursuers through a combination of skill and making sure the odds are in his favor.
The babbling Pinkerton agent Mackinley (Stephen Rea, “V for Vendetta”) proves to be the film’s hardest misstep. Mackinley is haunted by his failure to capture Cassidy, similarly living out his last days in Bolivia, though in drunken squalor. Rea does his best to salvage dialogue that is as melodramatic as it is forgettable and actions that are borderline irrational.
“Blackthorn” at first seems like a nostalgia trip, an attempt to remake a classic with modern sensibilities. Through occasional flashbacks to the younger Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the film casts Blackthorn and Eduardo as their modern incarnations, but it just doesn’t work. Their motivations are mysteries. Their relationship is devoid of depth or charm. The plot sets them up as reluctant comrades who grow to trust each other, but they never quite get past the reluctant part.
The film is somewhat redeemed by the ending, which could be construed as either a carefully constructed payoff or predictable cliché. Either way, it’s more interesting than most of what came before.
thescene@theeagleonline.com
