Dead Man’s Hand, 2023.
Directed by Brian Skiba.
Starring Stephen Dorff, Jack Kilmer, Cole Hauser, Camille Collard, Mo Brings Plenty, Forrie J. Smith, Randall Batinkoff, Corin Nemec, Tait Fletcher, Costas Mandylor, William McNamara, Kim DeLonghi, Boots Southerland, Forrest Wilder, Brian Skiba, Delilah Andre, Chandler Duke, James Logan, Thomas Wingate, Francis Cronin, Laurie Love, Jim Burleson, Vincent E. McDaniel, Cody Jones, Izzy Batinkoff, Jack Skiba, Elle Rae Morris, and Myah White.
SYNOPSIS:
It follows Reno, a newly married gunfighter seeking a quiet life with his bride. When Reno kills a bandit in self-defense, he finds them both pulled back into his old ways. Clarence Bishop, the corrupt mayor of their locale will not let his brother’s death go unpunished.
The kindest thing that can be said about director Brian Skiba’s (co-writing alongside Corin Nemec, based on the graphic novel by Kevin and Matthew Minor) Dead Man’s Hand is that there is a tiny nugget of personality to its protagonist Reno (Jack Kilmer), a post-Civil War gunman looking to set up a saloon in, get this, Nevada, alongside his wife Vegas (Camille Collard), as he reveals himself to be skilled at performing magic card tricks. Of course, he is also an effective marksman, as shown early on when he must protect a mother and daughters from outlaws while en route to Nevada.
The shootouts and bloodshed are phony beyond belief (everyone awkwardly reacts to gunshots with delayed collapsing, the grunts sound forced, and there is nothing to them besides watching characters get shot in open spaces while standing still), but there is something to be grateful for in that there is plenty of action considering many low-budget affairs ride it out with stilted dialogue for as long as they can before culminating with bursts of violence (lousy dialogue still exists here, but the priority is action). Then, Reno’s fingers are severed as a punishment since one of these cold-blooded killers just happens to be the brother of a corrupt mayor (Stephen Dorff) who is suspected by a sheriff (Cole Hauser) of killing off previous law enforcement for reasons involving a gold search.
One presumes that this would come into play as a great challenge for Reno to overcome, especially when trying to rescue his damsel in distress wife (these filmmakers utilize all the tropes in the book), but they are stitched back together by some friendly Apaches repaying the favor for Reno saving their lives. Yes, in this post-Civil War town still flying the Confederate flag, Reno is a man of progressive honor, which also might turn out to be something that comes at a cost.
However, these Apaches, and the multiple Black characters that spout information, seemingly exist to help the white Reno solely because he is a good guy who might turn around and improve their lives. One Black character states, “They say I’m free, but I don’t feel free,” which is the extent of their characterization. To be fair, no one has remotely interesting characterization here, but it is offputting that these filmmakers have no idea what to do with such minority characters other than using them as a tool to aid the hero.
Dead Man’s Hand has much bigger issues, such as the amateurish craftsmanship across the board, rendering every scene dimly lit or oddly color-graded. The action carries zero weight since there is no sense of geography or choreography going into the scenes; it’s a series of cuts and gunshot wounds, sometimes to important characters, with little rhyme or reason to what they do during a shootout. Then there is the woeful, unintentionally hilarious dialogue, such as a woman asking, “Is your hand okay” not even two minutes after a hole has been blown through his hand. No one is okay while watching this, although, at the very least, it does tell a coherent story, which is more than I can say for some of Brian Skiba’s other generic action flicks.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
