Seraphim Falls (2006)

Originally Reviewed

Wednesday July 11, 2007 

Seraphim Falls is a grand example of a western with loads of potential that ends up shooting itself in the head halfway through and turning a very entertaining film into a mediocre adventure. With westerns attempting to make their way back into the hearts of movie goers Seraphim Falls is a prime example of what to do and what not to do, and that sometimes sticking to the basics can be a good idea, unless of course it all arrives at a dead end.

Seraphim Falls starts off with Gideon (Pierce Brosnan) being hunted by Carver (Liam Neeson) and a group of bounty hunters, no information is given as to why the burning hatred of Carver against Gideon until almost the end of the film but the hatred itself is quite clear. The film is simple in its formulation with the first 45 minutes being immersed in a highly exciting chase as Gideon, nearly dead after being shot, rolls down a mountain, falls into a freezing river and then somehow manages to cut the bullet out of his arm with a small sword! This all is quite gruesome so if you have a sensitive stomach, this might not be the film for you. Oddly enough I couldn't stop laughing because of all the things Brosnan's character was going through were so unbelievable!  He dug a bullet out of his arm with his knife then stuck the knife into a fire and sears the wound, and that after everything else happened to him!

Sadly, after the first 45 minutes Seraphim Falls goes from highly entertaining to extremely strung out, as the chase continues and you're literally forced to set through a combined total of 30 minutes of simply riding around. Sure the scenery is gorgeous but it would have helped the film's flow if a majority of this had been removed. After what seems to be an eternity of riding scenes the film begins to turn very strange as the final scenes in the wastelands are a barrage of what appears to be strange hallucinations. Frankly the last 15-20 minutes of the film make absolutely no sense and does not compliment the rest of the film. To make matters worse the ending is quite lack luster; after following these guys around for two hours your given a conclusion that almost appears that the director ran out of time and/or money.

What makes Seraphim Falls great is the first part of the film and a few scattered scenes where Pierce Brosnan beats the crap out of people; also the most memorable has to be the horse corpse scene which will definitely take you by surprise when you see it. I have to give Brosnan credit, he did a fantastic job and I was really impressed with his caliber of acting, where on the other hand Liam Neeson was pretty mediocre.

Overall, Seraphim Falls is worth a watch for the first half of the film which is quite well done, it takes a simple plot of revenge and is able to make an pretty descent story out of it. Too bad they had to stretch it out and then end it so horribly because it could have been a great western. But it's nice to see some attempt at bringing back the genre and even though it's only average compared to the scarce other new westerns such as 3:10 To Yuma. 

7/10