Traded

RELEASED IN 2016 and directed by Timothy Woodward Jr., "Traded" stars Michael Paré as a father ruthlessly pursuing his runaway daughter (Brittany Elizabeth Williams) who has fallen prey to slavers in the prostitution trade. Trace Adkins plays an intimidating saloon owner while Kris Kristofferson is on hand as a bartender seeking redemption from the filth he's forced to live amidst. Tom Sizemore plays a nasty buyer in the slave-* business. This is a low-budget Western that has some technical weaknesses, like dubious continuity/editing, but a compelling story, gritty tone, brutal violence and fine locations, costuming & score. If you don't appreciate dark, violent modern Grade B Westerns like "Hickok" (2017) and "6 Guns" (2010) don't bother. The plot is obviously a melding of "Hardcore" (1979) and "Taken" (2008) in the Old West, but without the blockbuster resources. There are a lot of UN-pleasant elements as we see what those saloon babes REALLY had to go through in the Old West. There are some unexpected highlights, like Marie Oldenbourg as "Girl" in a meaty subplot, but the way it concludes (the subplot) is a missed opportunity. As dark and brutal as the movie is, there are thankfully brief rays of light, hope, reverence and (hopefully) happiness. THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour 38 minutes and was shot at Paramount Ranch, Agoura, California and areas nearby. WRITER: Mark Esslinger. GRADE: B-

Acting, direction, script, dialogue. You name it, it's wrong. It is almost worth suggesting to friends as a nasty joke. One particular scene sticked to mind and that was when the mother takes off for the neighbour's house to ask where her daughter was. She was so hilariously uncomfortable with riding a horse it was crazy. The horse was practically crawling I bawled myself laughing so hard I think I cracked a rib. If you are going to watch it as a fan of horrid movies then watch it until that scene and stop. that was the highlight of this movie. This movie is a total and complete waste of time and if ever there was a movie that deserved a negative score this is it.

"Kansas soil is full of fools who thought they were quicker." Clay (Paré) is a loving father but after his son is killed something changes in his family. Not wanting to live in depression any longer his daughter decides to leave and start her new life. When Clay realizes that something has gone wrong he will stop at nothing to find his daughter and bring her home safe. There have been a ton of these cheaply made westerns and most are almost unwatchable. While this won't stand along side modern classics like Open Range or Tombstone this is definitely one of the better ones to come out lately. That being said, this is essentially a western version of Taken. Adkins is a little over the top in this, but it works. Paré does a great job of carrying the movie and adds something to the movie to keep it from becoming too cheesy. Western fans will definitely enjoy this one. Overall, one of the better westerns to come out in a while. I liked this. I give it a B.

It is very rare that I have the depth of feeling to write a review for a film either good or bad but after watching this effort, I just had to. On every conceivable measure of the film making and writing art, this is a crime. Kris Kristofferson must be facing bankruptcy for him to be involved in this epic failure. Every possible cliché, from every western, ever made, is unashamedly copy and pasted into the script. I must admit, I had a semi masochistic urge to watch this through to the end. Much like watching a chimp with a hand grenade, you know it will end badly but just how will it reach it's denouement? In both cases, predictably and messily. Some films are so bad, that they are funny and earn some redemption in that. This film is so far off the scale in bad it even fails in that!