Plot
In the rugged frontier town of Trinity, Montana, where Henry Broadway witnesses his father, Isaac, being hanged. Isaac vehemently claims innocence, insisting he was framed by a corrupt sheriff, Saul Butler. Henry, a gullible son estranged from his father, readily believes him and sets out to fulfill Isaac's dying wish: clear his name and deliver justice.
Upon arriving in Trinity, Henry confronts the current sheriff, Gabriel Dove. Gabriel, however, gently informs Henry that Saul Butler is already dead. He tries to explain that the town viewed Isaac as a villain and Saul as a hero, warning Henry that challenging Butler's legacy would only cause trouble. The townsfolk believe that Butler was killed by a Blackfoot woman, Running Cub, and one of them, Gideon, demands Gabriel investigate rumours of her location. Gabriel finds her but, believing her to be innocent, advises her to move on.
Gabriel pays for Henry to stay at the local saloon. That evening, a dispute over a local prostitute, Julia, turns violent. A local miner, Asa, shoots Julia and Henry shoots him in turn. One of Asa's brothers, Red, pursues Henry but is killed by St Christopher, a priest and ex-slave. He reveals that he was once Isaac's partner in the later stages of the Civil War, in which Isaac had stolen a significant amount of gold from the South, then double-crossed Christopher, who is still seeking his promised share. He believes that Isaac hid his share under his family home. St Christopher had hired Jacob, a "stage actor" to extract a confession from Isaac at his handing. Jacob, however, has brought additional gunmen to the meeting-place, and holds Henry hostage. Gabriel follows Henry as demanded by Gideon and Asa's brothers, and is attacked by Jacob and his men. With help from St Christopher and Running Cub, Gabriel and Henry kill Jacob and his men.
Gabriel confirms that the hunt for the gold is resurfacing, informing Henry that his own house was once Isaac's and has been unsuccessfully searched for the treasure before. Gideon and a posse set out in search of Running Cub, and Gabriel goes to warn her. In Gabriel's absence, Christopher visits his house in search of the treasure and has a tense discussion with his wife Sarah, before Henry intervenes and tells him the treasure is missing. Gabriel's posse confronts Running Cub, but Gabriel arrives and tells them that in fact he killed Butler to save a child. In the ensuing shootout, most of the posse is killed, including Gideon's son, and Running Cub is injured. Gabriel and Running Cub flee to his house on horseback, where Running Cub tells Henry she knew him as a boy and taught him to ride. Gideon and Christopher rally the townsfolk to attack Gabriel's house seeking revenge and the gold.
Gabriel advises Sarah to flee with Julia's orphaned daughter, Mabel, but she opts to stay and fight, as does Henry. In the fight for the Dove house, Asa's brothers capture and torture Henry, but he is set free by their sister, who has had enough of their abuse. Gideon is killed, as are most of the attackers. Christopher, who has stayed behind, kills the barman after a chance comment leads him to believe the gold is buried under the town church, and then kills the town preacher before digging for the gold. Henry and Gabriel confront him there. Henry offers Christopher the chance to take his share of the gold and leave, but Christopher tries to fight and is shot dead by Gabriel.
In the end, a transformed and softened Henry disperses his father's ashes. Ready to leave Trinity, he acknowledges his rightful inheritance of Isaac's house but chooses to let Gabriel keep it, recognizing the life Gabriel has built there with his family. Gabriel, however, insists that Henry stay and gives him a Sheriff's badge.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 40% of 35 critics' reviews are positive. [11] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 48 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [12]
Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "At best, this serviceable shoot-'em-up features solid turns by veterans Pierce Brosnan and Samuel L. Jackson — the latter sporting a formidable pair of graying mutton chops. But the seasoned duo can only do so much to salvage a convoluted and formulaic scenario involving bloody vendettas, double crossings, stolen gold bars and lots of boilerplate dialogue, all of it set against a rather stunning Montana backdrop." [13]
Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com gave the film two and a half out of four stars, writing: "The movie's not a barn-burner or future classic, but new Westerns are thin on the ground these days, and this ultimately is a better-than-decent one." [14]
