The Journeyman (2001) User Reviews

The wrapping was better than the package.

[pamspamla · 6/10 · 3 April 2002]

This is no gussied up Western. Everyone and everything seems to be coated with a fine layer of dust. It portrays a rather bleak, spare environment with its characters manifesting a Darwinian "survival of the fittest" attitude.

What should have been the strong core of the movie proves to be its greatest weakness -- the two brothers and their relationship. Neither is developed beyond a shell. There is no one to root for in this film. Even an anti-hero has at least one redeeming quality to gain our sympathy but the title character has none. The minor characters are more fully realized and "human."

Did I mention the violence? More ammunition is expended here than in the entire Afghan conflict.

Bloody

[relars1 · 5/10 · 7 December 2013]

A very bloody, violent and ruthless Western. Two brothers are orphaned and separated when young, and one takes the wrong path in life, becoming a morphine-addicted Desperado.

Various outlaws, drifters and people with financial interests seek to kill each other, across the Badlands (set in Texas), and they do a pretty good job of it. No one shrinks from pulling a trigger, that's for sure. The violence, especially against women and children, becomes appalling and Gratuitous, really. Not a movie to watch with the Little Lady nor the children.

One man was equipped with a "Broomhandle Mauser" pistol, which was not invented until 1896, and certainly not a common sight in the Old West. This appears, alongside many cap-and-ball variant weapons, which are all much older. So, the story could not have taken place until after the turn of the Century (1900). Just one little Oddity.

If you like to see a LOT of Pathos and Summary Executions, this movie is for you. I had to knock off a few points, though I like gritty, realistic Westerns, the Realism of this one fades, when I reflect that very FEW people would have survived an Old West like this one.

Not a good movie, but if you like Westerns go for it!

[aequitas_veritas_007 · 4/10 · 1 September 2013]

If you like westerns I would give this one a go on a Sunday afternoon with nothing better to do.

At points over acted, and quite cheesy, it grinds along without much character development. This point makes me kinda sad, because there are some very interesting characters that would draw you in if you simply knew more about them. The story itself isn't really that original, but what do you expect in this genre.

Not even in the top 200 westerns of all time :) but it is good enough to fill that "I wanna watch a new western" itch if you haven't seen it yet. Only for western superfans.

Overall I say 4/10.

I give it two and a half indifferent shrugs.

[CamelCamelCamel · 26 April 2004]

Some good ideas and a pretty impressive score made this a movie I didn't mind sitting through late one night when it came on the Westerns channel.

Problems include an entirely passive "hero" who does absolutely nothing (in fact only the villain does anything, really), and some characters who are introduced only to be forgotten. But Barry Corbin is a beloved character actor, and I found Dash Mihok relatively charismatic in his role as a double-crossed, repentant bank robber. Daniel Lapaine, as the protagonist (I guess), is pretty much a cold fish, and sticking out like he does is no easy task with some of the other awkward actors put to work in this movie. Any energy the movie has comes from Brad Hunt as the pseudo-antagonist and, to a lesser extent, the aforementioned Dash Mihok and Barry Corbin. Willie Nelson's presence on the bill made me wary initially, but he has a very small, brief role, for which I'm grateful (I love Willie as much as the next Texan, but his presence only ever serves to take me out of a movie).

The score had a cool 1970s horror feel to it, and the idea of a morphine addicted outlaw is pretty fresh. Unfortunately the movie forgets to have a second and third act, the entire movie being a fairly linear chase with plenty of sub-plots (and potential sub-plots) not paying off one bit. However, with the drought of modern westerns stretching on, beggars can't be choosers, wasted potential or not. Now if only I could find that neato score...

What a mess!

[tommyf11236 · 1/10 · 4 April 2005]

Rate this Western film as terrible! It is a "B" movie at best. The storyline is just moronic. The flashback which comes too late in the film attempts to bring this confusing tale together. What was James Crowley, (writer and director) thinking about? What's the point of having one of the characters being a transvestite? The story jumps thirteen years with no explanation of how the characters developed into what they are. James Crowley never gives an explanation as to why the main character (Morphinist) became a cold-blooded killer. What is the purpose of the character role that Dash Mihok plays as the double-crossed bank robber, and why is it important in this film? You can drive a Mack truck through the gaps of continuity in this film. Crowley had better try his hand at something else. Westerns are definitely not his genre. Boring would be the best way to describe this mess. The feeling you get after watching this movie is: …why did I sit through this? Trust me, just skip this one.

Excellent movie

[bpeyton · 7/10 · 30 June 2006]

This is a vastly underrated film. The storyline and the location shots in Texas are excellent, and I think Brad Hunt makes one of the most sinister villains I've ever seen in a Western.

Watched it at least a half dozen times....

Despite his horrible actions, you can't help but feel sorry for The Morphinist and find yourself pulling for him in the final scene. It's easy to see how such people are created or made in society, molded by the things that happen to them in their youth.

If you like old spaghetti westerns, you'll like this. Many of the scenes remind me of A Few Dollars More or The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

I'm feeling generous - 2/10

[SW_MoJo · 2/10 · 30 December 2004]

I thought I was in for a good movie.

I'd just watched Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner in Open Range, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and was looking forward to another "gritty and violent" movie.

About the only thing gritty was my gritted teeth when it finally finished.

The two main actors I'd best describe as wooden. The rest of the cast, with the exception of Barry Corbin, couldn't decide whether they were in a dark western or a comedy.

Not a movie I can recommend.

Solid Western

[kyla-72302 · 7/10 · 5 January 2023]

I saw this around the time it came out and watched it multiple times. Every few years I try to find it again to rewatch it and finally it showed up on Amazon.

There's a real nice tension throughout the film and I like the way the information in the back story unfolds in bits and pieces.

I found the story and characters quite interesting and the music good. There's not much black and white to be found in this film. All the charaters have their good and not so good, and really bad, and you find yourself not sure who to root for. (My favorite kind of film!)

I'm guessing from the credits that this was funded by asking everyone the writer/directer knew to chip in a little money, which means you've gotta deliver a solid product or you'll disappoint all your loved ones and I think James Crowley delivered a solid product.

I also simply enjoyed the scenery and livestock.

Very underrated film!

[sethfcjohnson · 10/10 · 23 May 2017]

I first saw this film back in 2004 a few years after it had been released, it was playing on TV at a friends house and I remember thinking it was one of the coolest westerns I had ever seen. Unfortunately I didn't catch the title of the film but I would always think about it and how cool it was hoping to one day see the full film. I tried googling it for years or describing it to people to see if they had ever heard of it but to no avail. Fast forward to 2017 and I just happen to think about the film again so I googled it and happened to remember the line of dialogue "People remember evil long after they have forgotten good." Boom there it was the film I had been trying to find for all those years! Now after watching it again I remember why I was so obsessed with this film in the first place. Brad Hunt's character Morphinist is absolutely terrifying and has to be one of the best western villains I have ever seen! The plot is not necessarily the most involved but the characters are very well done and totally make the film worth watching. I would recommend this film to any western fan!

Gritty And Well Made Western

[johnboy1 · 20 January 2004]

If you like your westerns gritty and violent, this will be right up your alley. I loved it!

The story of two brothers who end up raised in totally different ways is not like any other western you'll ever see, but that's what makes it so enthralling.

It's always fun to watch character actors like Barry Corbin and Burton Gilliam, and they are both great in this film.

The real star of the film is Brad Hunt. His acting is the kind that makes us all want to take note of his name. If there is any justice at all, Hunt will become a big star. He's that good.

If you don't like violent westerns, you may want to skip this one (it makes Unforgiven look like a bright ray of sunshine, by comparison), but otherwise, you owe it to yourself to see it, if nothing else, to see Brad Hunt's sensational performance.

The Morphinist

[subgns · 10/10 · 8 April 2005]

This was a very good film. It is very direct and straight forward with its editing and continuity as well as its haunting sense of realism. The period styling is very gritty and yet also very colorful (many Westerns filmmakers seem to think that there was nothing but washed out colors in the late 1800s). The two main characters are The Morphinist and The Journeyman--two brothers separated at an early age. They meet once again at the climax, which is a well choreographed shoot-out in a graveyard. The drug addicted cowboy, The Morphinist, has some very cool lines such as: "People always remember evil long after they've forgotten good." The character of Walter P. Higgs III is very interesting and (for me) very funny. Walter is sad when Frank the Thief dies (betrayed by the Morphainist), and he is redeemed by the end of the film. I found myself rooting for Walter all throughout the film. The path of death that the Morphinist leaves in his drug induced wake makes him seem unredeemable, but when he weakly grasps the crucifix that the Journeyman places in his near dead hands at the end of the film we know that he too has suffered and needs compassion. But, only his brother could save him, or redeem him. This is among the best Westerns of the past ten years, and certainly ranks up there with Wild Bill, Tombstone, and Unforgiven.