Greetings & Salutations Once Again Fellow Movie Fanatics!
I hope you are all well.
The civil war was perhaps one of the darkest chapters in American history. It was a war that was fought between fellow soldiers, between neighbors, and amongst folks that had once been friends and even between family members. It was perhpas the greatest challenge the nation had faced since the revolution itself. Today’s film for your consideration is based upon that very premise. Not just a fight or simple dispute between brothers but a war.
‘Any Bullet Will Do’ is a 2018 American western written and directed by Justin Lee and stars Kevin Makely, Todd A. Robinson, Jenny Curtis, Meg Foster, Bruce Davidson, Mark Ryan, Ron Chevalier, And Brea Bee.
The time 1865. The final year of the civil war. In an isolated forest along the front lines, one of the last battles is being fought between 20 or so union soldiers led by Hollis Ransom (Makely) and a group of Confederate soldiers led by Hollis’s own brother Everett Ransom (Robinson). While the men in their respective units fight, the brothers fight each other with the full intent of slaying the other brutally with no fear or remorse. For them, the fight isn’t just over ideological differences or loyalties but something much much more personal. As the confederates are overwhelmed, the brothers deal severe injuries to one another and the retreating Confederates pull Everett away from the fighting only to disappear.
1876. Ten years later. Hollis survived his injuries and is now working as a bounty hunter in the outpost settlements that have sprung up around the gold mines of Montana. More specifically, a headhunter in order to inspire more fear while establishing his reputation. When a large quantity of gold is stolen from one of the mines owned by Jonathan Carrington (Davidson), he dispatches Hollis to hunt down the thieves and retrieve the gold with the aid of a tracker Rose Gage (Curtis). After Hollis and Rose happen across a brutally murdered family while tracking the thieves it becomes clear to Hollis that these are obviously not ordinary thieves and killers but individuals he is quite familiar with and arrives at one conclusion. His own brother has survived the war and is now leading this band of thieves and murderers. Determined to see the job through to the end and despite Hollis’s objections, Rose decides to continue on even though it means following Hollis to the inevitable confrontation between him and his brother and along the way she begins to understand the true meaning of the great hatred the brothers share for one another drawing them towards the inevitable confrontation that has been brewing for over a decade.
This is a totally different story but the setting and brutality displayed by the characters as well as some of the character nuances in the film brought back memories of ‘The Hateful 8’. ‘Any Bullet Will Do” is a brutal and violent film but it’s ‘honest’. There’s no ‘bearing around the bush’ is it were. It’s driven by dissent and revenge based on actions so severe that they cannot be forgiven or corrected. The film is currently not rated however I would most certainly NOT recommend it for children. It clocks in at 110 minutes so it’s a bit long on the tooth. I’m going to give it 4 out of 5 stars. In a time when there are not too many westerns being made, it’s a welcome gritty change from the standard movie fare. Watch it in the dark or when it’s cold outside and you’re indoors with a pot of coffee or hot chocolate trying to keep warm.
