Highwaymen (2004)

Originally Reviewed 

Friday August 31, 2007

I'm not a fan of the adage, "it's so bad it's good". Usually when that phrase is thrown out a film turns out to be simply bad and is only "good" to those who spend most of their time watching Ed Wood films or the crap put out by Troma. I personally have nothing against most of those films, I myself have begun gravitating towards more B-movies, but it's a rarity that I find one I really get a kick out of.  Every once in a while I stumble upon something that actually fulfills the "it's so bad it's good" adage, a film that's so awful it's fun, a film that is exciting it engulfs you in some brainless entertainment... Highwaymen is that film.

Highwaymen isn't a comedy but it's horribly written script and paper thin plot end up bringing quite a few laughs. Jim Caviezel is Rennie Cray, a normal guy living a pleasant life until a total stranger comes out of nowhere and runs his wife over with his car right in front of him. Cray chases the guy down and manages to return the gesture by totaling his car and putting him in the hospital, but Cray ends up getting three years in prison while the attacker is let go after major re-constructive surgery.

Now five years after his wife's murder Cray continues the hunt for the man named Fargo who maliciously ran her down.  Fargo, now more metal than man, is ready for him. Molly (Rhona Mitra) unfortunately becomes Fargo's next random target and a pawn with which to tease Cray. Cray happens to be in the right place at the right time and is able to save Molly in Fargo's first attempt, but this only angers Fargo and she now becomes stuck in the middle as Cray seeks revenge for his wife's murder and Fargo seeks revenge for being turned into a paraplegic.

What makes Highwaymen so entertaining is its attempt at being quite serious, but with a script that's so awful you can't help but laugh at the one liners Caviezel throws out. My favorite had to be in reference to Fargo, as he explains to Molly that the doctors had to "rebuild him from the bottom up", which reminded me of something out of the Million Dollar Man or that energizer bunny commercial where they exclaim that they've made him "faster and stronger!"

On the plus side the look of the film is pretty sweet, in a gritty way, and the action sequences, while totally unbelievable and outlandish, are quite exciting and entertaining. Overall, Highwaymen may be a terribly written film with a see-through plot, but what it lacks in intelligent dialog it makes up for in visuals and overall entertainment. I have to give credit to Caviezel and some of the other actors for being able to deliver some horrible dialog with such conviction and seriousness, that's truly talent and it definitely adds to the entertainment value of this film. In the end, Highwaymen is well worth a rent, I was really quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. My advice is turn off your brains for an hour and a half, grab a bowl of popcorn, get a bunch of your friends together and let the good times roll! 

8/10