One Ranger is a 2023 American western action thriller film directed by Jesse V. Johnson and starring Thomas Jane as a Texas Ranger.
The film follows a Texas Ranger who is recruited by British Intelligence to track down and stop a dangerous international terrorist.
The Texas Ranger is a “gunslinging” and skilled law enforcement officer who is tasked with working with British Intelligence to apprehend the terrorist threat.
Review by Ben Dover:
One Ranger (2023) – 2 Dusty Spittoons
Well, saddle up my hemorrhoids and call me Clint! Just when I thought the Western genre had ridden off into the sunset, along comes “One Ranger” to remind us why it probably should have stayed there. Thomas Jane stars in this modern-day cowboy flick that’s about as fresh as week-old trail beans.
Jane plays Ranger Travis Cole, a Texas lawman who’s tougher than beef jerky and twice as dry. He’s on the hunt for some drug-running varmints, because apparently, we can’t have a modern Western without throwing in a cartel or two. It’s like someone watched “No Country for Old Men” and thought, “Hey, let’s do that, but make it dumber!”
The plot gallops along like a three-legged horse, stumbling from one cliché to the next. We’ve got the grizzled ranger, the smarmy bad guys, the damsel in distress (who’s also inexplicably a crack shot), and enough squinting to make you wonder if the entire cast needs glasses.
Jane does his best Eastwood impression, growling his lines through a perma-scowl that suggests severe constipation. His character’s about as deep as a desert puddle, with a backstory you could fit on a post-it note. But hey, he sure looks good in that hat!
The action scenes are a mixed bag of genuine thrills and unintentional comedy. One shootout had me on the edge of my seat, while another looked like a bunch of kids playing cowboys and Indians with cap guns. And don’t get me started on the horse chases – I’ve seen livelier nags at a glue factory.
The film tries to grapple with themes of justice and morality in the modern West, but it’s about as subtle as a bull in a china shop. Every other line is some ham-fisted metaphor about “taming the wild” or “the changing times.” We get it, pardner. The Old West is dead. No need to beat that horse – it’s already decomposing.
Is “One Ranger” the worst modern Western I’ve seen? Nope. Is it going to make anyone forget about “Unforgiven” or “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”? Hell no. It’s a middling entry in a genre that’s been done to death, buried, dug up, and beaten like a rented mule.
If you’re a die-hard Western fan or just have a hankering to see Thomas Jane squint for two hours, you might find some enjoyment here. For the rest of us, you’re better off rewatching “Tombstone” for the umpteenth time. At least there you get Val Kilmer chewing scenery like it’s his last meal.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go wash this mediocrity down with some rotgut whiskey and pretend I’m in a better movie. Yippee-ki-yay, movie-goers.
Notes:
Gross worldwide:
$27,938
Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes
“One Ranger” feels like an American Red State answer to James Bond.
Really not a western… except for the hat.
There is some seriously bad gunplay in this movie as no one can hit anything. then suddenly become a crack shot when needed for the plot.
A halfway decent reptilian brain movie, just well-done enough to keep you going until the end, which holds no surprises. Not a good movie… Not all that bad either, feels like an overly long episodic TV series episode.…
Critics Consensus:
Critics 25% Audience 28% Rotten Tomatoes
Trailer:
AI Images:
abigailfoskett 