Jonah Hex

“Jonah Hex,” based on the DC comic of the same name, focuses on the good deeds of a seemingly bad man. Starring Josh Brolin in the title role, the film, set in 1876, introduces Hex and his complex, dark background via the contrasted imagery of film footage juxtaposed against animation.

The former soldier now bounty hunter with special powers, complete with a horse he calls “horse,” a cowboy hat, a disfigured face and many, many guns, Jonah Hex is part Eastwood’s Blondie (from “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”), part Robin Hood and part Harvey Dent’s alter ego Two Face.

Quentin Turnbull, played with flawless cruelty by Hollywood legend John Malkovich, targets Hex given the two men’s history: Turnbull’s only son and Hex both served under the Confederate general during the Civil War, but then the latter saw his ways, turned on his soldiers and killed his best friend.In a flashback scene slightly reminiscent of “The Usual Suspects” where Keyser Söze watches bad men attack his family, Hex witnesses a similar debauchery, yet left powerless to rescue his wife and child. This sets up the raging feud between Hex and Turnbull, and the final showdown between the two men.

The actual story of the film begins when President Grant, played convincingly by Aidan Quinn, discovers via his advisors that Turnbull’s hooligan brigade have stolen secret military weapons. The president then realizes that only Hex can save the day and sends his soldiers to find the loner, who find Hex in an awkward moment with his lover-but-really-a prostitute-and-tough-girl Lilah (Megan Fox).

Fox gives the only female performance of the movie and serves one purpose: eye candy for the mostly male audience this film attracts. While Selma Hayek and Antonio Banderas achieved the connection between two outcasts in a southwest warzone much better in “Desperado,” Brolin and Fox do have chemistry, and, given the overall suspension of disbelief the movie requires, the outlaw couple seems as plausible as any other two people in a similar survival at all costs situation.

Rounding out the cast is Michael Fassbender (“Inglorious Basterds”) as Burke and Will Arnett (“Arrested Development”) as Lieutenant Grass. The latter is one of the major flaws of an otherwise summer entertainment cinema bubblegum: Arnett, best known for portraying dark-humor jackasses is completely miscast and, at some of the film’s most serious and violent moments, his on-screen presence generated uninvited laughter from the audience. People expect him to be the clueless and cruel jerk they’ve seen him master so well on “30 Rock,” “Blades of Glory,” and “The Rocker.” Expecting the audience to take him seriously as a military man protecting his country is, well, a joke.

Overall, “Jonah Hex” feels disjointed. Perhaps the 80 short minutes should have been extended to give the other major characters the background and depth they may have deserved. Perhaps the brilliant animation should have showed up more frequently. Perhaps developing the personal stories of the minor characters would have allowed the audience to care more for them and for the film. By the third act, the predictability factor kicks in, leaving viewers slightly emptier than when they first sat down in their seats.

This letdown disappoints given the high caliber of most of the actors, the truly luscious use of color in several outdoor scenes and even the quick humor sprinkled throughout the movie. Also, while the story references frequent evil violence, the film’s PG-13 rating prevented it from going further and, instead of showing the brutality, simply alludes to it.

“Jonah Hex” will generate a following from its mostly male teenage target audience as well as from DC comic loyalists. Additionally, the A-list actors provide a level of intelligence the film desperately needs. They obviously had fun making this movie, which, unfortunately, is mostly lost in the end result.

DIRECTOR: Jimmy Hayward SCREENWRITERS: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor PRODUCERS: Kerry Foster, John Goldstone, Matt LeBlanc, Ravi D. Mehta CAST: Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Will Arnett MPAA RATING: PG-13