I went to see "The Kid" today. It's a Western. I had to.
You might be surprised to find out that "The Kid" is not about
Henry McCarty a.k.a. William H. Bonney, a.k.a. William McCarty,
a.k.a. Henry Antrim and a.k.a. Billy the Kid. No, this movie is
about "The Kid" whose life intertwined with Mr. Bonney's for a
short time before Billy's demise at the hands of Sheriff Pat Garrett.
Fiction, yes.
This movie was pretty artsy craftsy and about what I was expecting
from director Vincent D'Onofrio (who I enjoy). Pretty slow moving
Western with an "independent" feel. Dane DeHaan was an enjoyable
Billy The Kid but seemed restrained. I would like to see him as Billy
with different direction. I like Dane. His entrance was my favorite
part of this movie and the few seconds it lasts are awesome. Not quite
worth the price of admission, but almost.
You have never seen Chris Pratt like he is in "The Kid". He is a ba...
bas... a bast... He is MEAN. Always like Chris. Ethan Hawk as
Pat Garrett is well.... okay. I like Ethan Hawk but... I don't know.
And a Deputy crying about shooting a bank robber because
the robber is a youngin. Hey, he was robbing a bank and firing
a weapon. You roll the dice... It was somewhat of a
"message movie". Not always the most fun kind of Westerns.
I always read the credits at the end of movies and when there are firearms
involved I like to look for the armorer. I waited and waited and I never
did see one for "The Kid". GUNS and props are important in Westerns,
unless they want to downplay them. Messages. I COULD have
just missed it I supppose, but I looked and looked.
Great locations.
Anyway. I give "The Kid" 5 out of 10 "Trips to the Outhouse".
If the DVD or Blu-ray goes down to $5.00, I will buy it.
"Hello Bob!"
!! BANG !!
"Goodbye Bob!"
Nope, not that kind of a movie.
Dane DeHaan as William Bonney.
(Not his awesome entrance.)