The Old Way

• Directed by Brett Donowho
• January 6, 2023

A retired gunman along with his very young daughter searches for the outlaws who killed his wife.

I’m usually game for anything with Cage in it. Even if the movie he’s in is not good he is good. Or much more watchable than the movie itself. He’s one of those actors that’s intriguing to watch because of his unique style. And more importantly he gives the part his all regardless of the project. I give him credit for that.

Enter into this The Old Way. Despite a decades long career, this is his first Western of any sort. His character of Colton Briggs is a former bad ass who has since settled down and built a bit of a life. But as often the case in Westerns, the past comes back to haunt him, and the story finds Colton as well as his daughter Brooke (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) setting out to hunt down the group that killed his wife.

Including a kid in a story is always a risky proposition. Most times it is done as a way to display heart for the adult character. Sometimes the child contributes to the story which is good or both characters grow in some way which is also good. Others the kid is an anchor needlessly slowing it all down.

What we get here is that there are parallels between father and daughter. Briggs is shown to be cold and ruthless and almost completely without fear. His daughter is displayed in much the say way and it becomes clear they have more in common than just blood. Brooke initially to me came off as a product of an emotionally distant father but it soon becomes clear it is more.

Cage was good as Colton but things got weak for the character at one particular moment when he and his daughter are sitting around a campfire and he’s explaining how he was able to change his ways because of her mother. It’s a little too emotional. For a man who has been cold and emotionless and never experienced fear it seemed too weepy. I understand Colton’s first experience of fear was what motivated him. If Colton had kept the delivery much more cold it would’ve worked better.

The villain of the story is James McAllister (Noah Le Gros)-the son of a man Colton shot in the opening scene. The son took it as murder but Colton was just defending himself. Probably did not help that Colton took money that was owed as the man lay dying. Le Gros makes McAllister quite creepy. He was downright dangerous and rather menacing.

Nick Searcy costars as Marshal Jarret who is familiar with Colton’s old life. Searcy is fine and quite underrated actor and truth be told as much as I enjoyed Cage, Searcy outshined him in his part. He’s much more dynamic in general and when speaking with Cage makes the star look rather stiff both physically and in performance.

The story as it progresses becomes about Colton teaching his daughter to fit in and function. He realizes she is too much him and if she is to fit in must learn to fake normal reactions like fear and sadness. Cage conveys hardened man and the actress playing his daughter is good at reflecting Nicolas Cage’s character.

The basic premise for The Old Way is an interesting spin on the merciless killer that changes. Once they get to the reason why but before that it is a bit of a muted revisionist Western. It is not bad but nothing that wows. The movie is competently directed and nobody really slacks in their performance. Cage as always is interesting to watch but is outshined by Searcy in too little screentime for him. And it even has an adequate budget.

The Old Way will certainly appeal the Nicolas Cage fans, but I think it might be a hard sell to Western fans of either the older stuff or the newer stuff as well as the general movie watcher.