Border Town (2009 Video) User Reviews

Next time get the botella de mezcal

[actionfilm-2 · 4/10 · 12 December 2009]

Border Town has several things going for it. Great cinematography, beautiful lighting, solid and natural performances from the 2 leads Mark Joy and Linda Rodriguez, and visual effects that blend nicely into the film giving it an at times dreamlike quality.

It also has several things working against it. Pacing is a little slow, some performances not quite solid, dialog is standard fare, standard action scenes as well (I'm sure due to budget limitations). It's difficult for a film to stand out based purely on technical expertise these days, as there are so many films that are made well visually. Yes, Border Town is a character study of those populating the film, but it also presents itself as an action film. And there is part of the problem as well, because the film hinges on the final action scene which is staged in such a manner that the viewer's disbelief is not suspended for the time it takes to play out. Don't know if I can recommend the film wholeheartedly, but certainly recognize it as a worthy effort from those involved and will keep it in the DVD collection.

Indie low-budget movie doesn't shame itself...But, it had more potential than it reaches.

[AudioFileZ · 4/10 · 29 June 2009]

We've seen the story here done a few times and better at that, but for an indie with a low budget it's watchable, even entertaining, if you get past some of the predictability and the rote, many times laughable dialog. To be in a genre with past masters like Sergio Leonne and even newer homage paying directors like Robert Rodriquez, well, the going is tough as it sets the bar almost beyond indie reach (I know I'm going be called for this as Rodriquez did amazing stuff as an indie, but he definitely is more the exception than the rule).

It isn't a classic by any stretch, but with better dialog and more cinematic, "film-like" (i.e. not video) visuals it would likely be a stronger contender as the actors and actresses, though unknown, turn in decent characterizations. As you can tell, I find it lacking a bit yet entertaining enough to watch.

No Christian Agenda

[cyberwoff · 5/10 · 1 January 2010]

There was no Christian agenda, and certainly no oogling of the daughter's breasts by the father. Thee are a few problems with the pacing of the movie, but all in all the father and especially Isabella do a good job. I think the movie slows a bit, waiting for the big shootout to begin, but once it gets started, it pretty much gets the movie back on track. This is not the best movie of its genre, and there are times when it could have been better, but taken as it is, the movie is entertaining. I know that when the movie ended, I felt a little better for seeing it. I just wish that the maker of Border Town had seen fit to make the last scene more believable. Or at least more cool. Instead of the father just running away from all the bullets, which was basically impossible without getting shot, they could have had him with two pistols, diving and dodging and such. I still liked the movie.

Absolutely dire

[herbiefrogg · 1/10 · 9 July 2009]

You will not live long enough to waste 90 minutes of your life watching this dire, dire movie. I don't know where to begin. It is so bad it isn't even funny, just sad. I kept watching it against my better judgement in case it would get better along the way, but it got worse. The plot is simple, but the acting for the most part is utterly abysmal; one dimensional characters spouting clichés after clichés without a trace of acting ability amongst them (with the exception of Linda Rodriguez who plays the part of Isabella). There is a huge shoot out scene that stretches credibility into another dimension in terms of the number of bullets fired by baddies that fail to hit their target which is all of 5 metres away. It is impossible to empathise with the main character who is so incredibly wooden in everything he says and does. I could go on but I won't because I have already wasted too much time watching this travesty of a movie. You have been warned!

NOT the best thing since sliced bread

[charlytully · 5/10 · 14 January 2011]

I have seen black and white photographs of the devastation wrought upon Richmond at the end of the U.S. Civil War. (While some may think Virginians brought all this upon themselves to a certain extent, most people today want to let by-gones be by-gones). So it is understandable that denizens of this city want to crow from the rooftops when they think they finally have a POST-bellum accomplishment to brag about. Which helps to explain WHY a third-rate western such as BORDER TOWN (shot entirely in Virginia) is so desperately being hawked as the Second Coming (if not of the carpenter's Son, at least Robert E. Lee--virtually the same thing).

However, I seriously recommend anyone obtaining a DVD of BORDER TOWN to view the making-of feature ("Bienvindos a solo") FIRST, since 19 minutes with it might convince many people NOT to invest another hour and a half viewing the feature BIENVINDOS describes. After all, many will find it indefensible (if not racist) that cast and crew spend so much time bragging that 1)they never set foot near Mexico while filming their "Mexican village" of Solo, 2)they used tons of CGI in a ludicrous effort to turn suburban Richmond into decayed 19th Century mexicana, and 3)ALL of the talent necessary to cast the extremely varied roles the script calls for were easily filled within the city limits of Richmond (such as the catatonic one-time Playboy model who keeps ALL of her clothes ON while portraying a white sex-slave that corrupt southwestern U.S. law enforcement officials have allowed to remain enbrotheled 5 miles south of the American border for about 12 years). Compared to Richmond and CGI lab costs, authentic movie locations in the U.S. southwest or Mexican northwest probably are dirt cheap. But that wouldn't be Virginia, would it? At least famed western novelist Zane Grey, a native of Ohio, was smart enough to move to Arizona after writing a couple of "easterns." If director Chris Allen Williams et al decide to make any more "westerns," hopefully they will spring for some real dust next time.

Solid low budget action film is the sort of thing that would have been an exploitation classic in the glory days of grind-houses

[dbborroughs · 8/10 · 26 August 2009]

Man who has been on a bloody five year quest to find his daughter who was kidnapped by human traffickers has at last found his daughter and the man responsible in a small corrupt border town just in Mexico . They know he's coming and he knows they know and what happens when he gets there is the movie. Super action film probably would have been a main stay of the grind-house movie theaters in their heyday. This is a film with good good guys, bad bad guys, funny lines and lots of action. Think of it as a sort of play on Robert Rodriguez's Desperado. I mention this to tell you what its like but not to lessen the film by comparison. This is one of those small scale gems that run the danger of getting lost in the waves of direct to video movies. Where most of the films released that way are not worth your time this one really is. Its one of the few films that I wanted to start again when it ended. It's a super film that action fans need to search out. It's a film that I'm going to be recommending to all my friends who like action films. While it would be easy to say that this is the best film that Maverick Releasing has put out I would add that this is probably one of the best films put out by any of the small releasing companies.(I like Maverick and I've appreciated a large number of their titles which have run the gamut from good to awful, but have on the whole been at least interesting even when they failed.) If you're an action film you really want to see this.

Surprisingly GREAT Movie

[ViacomFilms · 10/10 · 6 July 2009]

"Border Town" A Law Less Modern Day Mexican Western spins a tale of a deadly town disarmingly affable--and the small-time family man, desperate enough to find his only Daughter. It aims to be a straight-up Mexican Western and deliver the excitement and charisma the genre's fans are starved for. Recognizing that contemporary viewers might be out of touch with the simplicity and strength of the genre--not to mention its code of honor-- This is a surprisingly GREAT movie! Great action climax, the crossfire of personal agendas is almost as frenetic as the copious gun play. Actors performances are sincere and aching and sometimes comedic ( Newcomer Linda Rodriguez who plays Isabella has a Fearless and Provocative performance -- not to be missed ) The greatest part of "Border Town" is that it transcends all boundaries: race, gender, class and region. Having never seen a modern day Law Less Mexican WESTERN film, "Border Town" proves there is a whole genre that is being ignored. Thankfully, "Border Town" has been able to break a door down.

"Border Town" is a must Watch-

Border Town:. A Redaction of Desperado

[d_carlotaj · 8/10 · 14 March 2020]

"Border Town," (2009). Starring Mark Jay, Linda Kennedy, and Ricard Melendez. Director, Chris Allen Williams. This is one of those films that you have to warm up to. You know immediately that it's an independent film. The credits remind one of the fifties westerns television credits such as the ones which were sketches of Cheyenne and Lawman. The first scenes lead to a situation in a cafe on a desolate border town road. The acting is a bit campy and over the top. But subsequent scenes show a marked improvement in acting and direction. And immediately the viewer notices that Border Town has a graphic novel feel, similar to Sin City and Desperado. This film is very much a guy flick. Lovely Spanish ladies in the clutches of human traffickers, and her father is a one-man army out to rescue his daughter. A loose senorita with a heart of gold, wielding a shotgun, backs up the dad. Lots of guns, explosions, and a score with guitar music giving just the right flavor to the mix. The editing of the action scenes was excellent and exciting, fitting together well, but did not detract from the plot. The flashbacks had some layered, focusing technique that I thought worked really well. A gratuitous sex scene could have fit into this plot easily, but the writer, to his credit, chose not exploit the possibility, maintaining the integrity of the father in his quest to retrieve his daughter from the traffickers. Although the director used unknown actors and had a limited budget, I found this film entertaining and quite well done. I give it 8 of 10 stars.