User reviews

I think most people would have expected more form a movie starring Woody Harrison and Liam Hemsworth,both who were in The Hunger Games together, but it was a pretty plain, low budget kind of thing that happen to have a really good story to it.

Hemsworth plays a Texas Ranger who is sent after a man killing Mexicans in a small town he runs, and just by coincidence, this same man killed his father 20 years ago in a strange ritual of code of honor from the town they are from. Making matters worse is the fact that this Texas Ranger brings with him his Mexican Wife just because she complained about having nothing to do around the house while he's gone, and she ends up being put under the religious spell this man has got on some of the townsfolk.

Hemsworth plays a decent cowboy. Not as dashing as his older brother, Chris as he goes for more of the Clint Eastwood type. Woody Harrison is a good villain in the film. It's similar to his work in the film, Out of the Furnace.

But I really like the grim story that the Western told about the treatment of the Mexicans after the borderline for Texas was created.

Overall it was a brilliant western that had no frills just a great story with some good actors telling the tale

Regrettably, the great genre of film that is the Western struggles mightily in our present time. Most Westerns are now low-budget, like The Duel, but that does not mean that it should be written off (I was pleasantly surprised that the recent release Forsaken was a decent Western). There are some positives in this film, yet negatives are rampant and I will note the primary ones.

This film features a decent cast and an interesting story which involves an investigation surrounding missing people and an occult leader that has come to control the hearts and minds of the people of a small Texas town. However, besides a respectable performance by Liam Hemsworth, the cast is mediocre and forgettable with Woody Harrleson topping the list as being a cliché villain with forgettable, pretentious faux-intellectual dialogue.

The action is average at best, and above all else there is a feeling that the writers or producers wanted to inject their opinion regarding the current treatment of Mexicans (something a reviewer on Roger Ebert's website noted) into a script already bogged down with murder, missing persons, revenge, a husband-wife relationship, a mysterious town, and a religious occult leader. It is subtle. However, it seemed out of place and unnecessary but that does not stop Hollywood from forcing a narrative or agenda into a movie, does it?

Overall, this is a movie that had promise, but sub-par acting and a feeling that it did not know which plot point should receive the most attention weakened the film as a whole. If you like Westerns, you may find it more alluring because of the genre. Nevertheless, it is a one time watch that struggles and does not contribute anything of great worth.

Good cast,nice and interesting script but something's missing I don't know what exactly. Bad rating from the majority of the subscribers but I wasn't feel right the 2..4 or phrases like"waste of time" No it wasn't so bad ...but i agree that it's not a film for all.(I've read some reviews).A pleasant western film with quite fascinating plot.I'm not so much into the western films but I've enjoyed this one ...it wasn't captivating or something like that ,but not boring either.Everything was in place,every piece of the puzzle,the plot was there,the actors was there ,the action was there but something was missing.The whole movie was good though(6.7/10) even if I wanted,basically I needed a different ending .So,as a conclusion i want to say that the movie is worth seeing and enjoyable.Both Hemsworth and Harrelson were great and made the movie better .

A Texas Ranger , David Kingston (Liam Hemsworth) is assigned by his commandant (William Sadler) to investigate a series of unexplained deaths in a town called Helena where rules tyrannically a fake preacher named Abraham (Woody Harrelson) . There , David is appointed sheriff, then things go wrong.

Pretty good and straightforward western dealing with thought-provoking issues , including thrills , go riding , noisy action , shootouts and lots of violence . Attractive but too slow at times , the movie is redeemed by its great performances , the realistic view of the Old West and by its rich array of charming roles. The two leading men Liam Hemsworth as David Kingston and Woody Harrelson as Abraham are magnificent in the hostile environment which the flick is set in . If you are a fan of the guys, Hemsworth and Harrelson , you'll want to watch this one ; they previously shared scenes in The Hunger Games film franchise. There are still nice scenes to see such as the saloon confrontation in similar style to Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven , the impressive final duel and other sparkling set pieces . It also results to be surprisingly gory along with a handful of violent and breathtaking action scenes . It results to be a thunder stuff with a strong star cast . The actors supporting who accompany the lead roles are fine , mostly acting decently , such as : Alice Braga , Emory Cohen, Felicity Price , William Sadler , Chris Baker , Chris Berry and Raphael Sbarge

It displays colorful and riveting cinematography by Jules O'Loughlin , reflecting wonderfully the landscapes and the little town environment, being heavily filmed in state park Florewood, and Greenwood, Mississippi . Evocative and appropriate musical score by Craig Eastman. The motion picture was finely written by Matt Cook who produced as well and compellingly directed by Kieran Darcy-Smith .The latter is a good actor and director , known for Wish you were here (2012), Animal Kingdom (2010) , Wolf Creek (2016) and he has shot various episodes of notorious TV series . He's married to Felicity Price who in "The duel¨ plays an important role as Noemi . Rating : Good, it's competent enough, a straightforward entertainment that results to be an intriguing story turned into an OK actioner Western. However , this is definitely an adult-oriented flick because of the violence, amount of gore and some profanity language on hand. It's one of the best Western films of the last years. A must see for every enthusiast of a decent action western movie.

Texas Ranger David Kingston (Helmsworth) is sent undercover to a Texas town to investigate why Mexicans are turning up dead.

What you will see: Marisol (Alice Braga), David's wife, insisting she go with David on his undercover mission, bloody hand-to-hand fighting, a variation of The Most Dangerous Game, a town under the grip of Cult Leader Abraham (Harrelson), an unexplained betrayal, a prayer meeting where snakes are handled by everyone, and pure racism.

I was overjoyed at the prospect of seeing another western, but I didn't expect the cruelty. This has to do with a variation of The Most Dangerous Game and you will be as shocked as I was. I am always surprised at some of the really sick things people do to others. There seems to be a tendency for Hollywood to go beyond normal good guy- bad guy plots and this is what we get.

The acting all around is very good, but we didn't expect the script to center around a variation of The Most Dangerous Game. This is where a good western turns into something not so good. And the unexpected betrayal seemed well out of place. (Aren't betrayals always unexpected?)

Notables: William Sadler as Governor Ross; Emory Cohen as Isaac, Abraham's brother; Raphael Sbarge as Dr. Morris; and Sue-Lynn Ansari as the Saloon Woman.

Sad to say, but this is a not for everyone Western. (5/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes, some not too often.

Westerns for me is such a distinctive genre as owing to a specific time in history and being rooted in its universal themes that has been explored almost exhaustively.

It's surprising then that one should come along with a kick to the teeth in the guise of a movie that's packaged lightly in terms of visuals and score. The story follows a young ranger and spouse as he has to face a man, who killed his father in a duel in the past, and now reigns supreme in a small town near the Mexican border.

Harrelson is cut out for this role as a man who is on a self-righteous path of carrying out the will of the divine by means of brutality and chances of fate. He is a force to be reckoned with and overshadows all else around him but Hemsworth's Kingston is well versed himself in taking the law into his own hands. Almost too mechanical by way of showing how it's done but believe you me it's a slice of justice being dished out, nothing fancy, and enough to sit you down.

The intrigue of spirituality that leads people on down a dark road is only touched upon as being an inexplicable power that makes few connections with the actual clandestine going ons that has brought the characters at odds with one another. Something as easily abused is often mistaken for something else but no one could possibly deviate from the course when Harrelson's fierce eyes are keeping watch.

I was really impressed by this great movie and the low rating seems totally unjustified to me. Sometimes you see a painting where it is not the content that catches your eye, but the way that it is painted. I would say that i have that experience with this movie: a well crafted piece of art. The acting is superb, the sound, music and scenery fit well together and create the perfect atmosphere for this story. Not a complex or spectacular story, but intriguing, and beautifully painted. Absolutely a must see for those who appreciate quality.

Over the past decade, there has been a resurgence in the Western. That is good news because this is a much-loved genre. However, when a film like THE DUEL comes along, we simply reverse to square one all over again. This is a miserable and unsatisfying excuse for a film. The viewer will find it difficult to cheer on any of the cast, simply because they are one-dimensional characters. It is not the fault of the actors, however. Blame lies entirely at the feet of the director. This is one helmsman who is totally amateurish in his approach, and I will do my best to avoid his features in the future. There is zero intrigue, suspense, characterization, interest nor due care here. The pace drags throughout. And the editing is amateurish also. Liam Hemsworth is a competent actor but even he struggles with his role - yet he is the best thing about the film. And as for Woody Harrelson...! He should receive an award for the Greatest Miscasting of the Year. He is downright hopeless in the role of the Mount Hermon emperor. This part requires an actor of strength and charisma. But poor Woody falls at every step. Don't misunderstand me, I like Woody Harrelson. But not in roles like this. Abysmal casting.

The Duel: Woody Harrelson is well suited to the role of a prophet, a crooked snake-handling preacher called Brant who controls Mount Hermon, a town on the Texan-Mexican border. Mexican citizens have gone missing in the area and the Texas Governor sends Texas Ranger Kingston (Liam Hemsworth) to investigate, The complication is that Brant killed Kingston's father in a duel twenty years before. A tale of racism, revenge, ethnic cleansing and downright horror with some really disturbing scenes. Truly a Savage Western. Good acting by Hemsworth and Harrelson along with Alicie Brage as Marisol, Kingston's conflicted wife and Felicity Price as Naomi, a prostitute who is desperate to escape from Mount Hermon. Directed by Kieran Darcy-Smith. 7/10. On Netflix.

I'm no movie critic but it was entertaining enough and had a decent storyline to it. I liked both main characters and their shared history. It's worth a watch.

A number of citizens of Mexican origins are disappearing and the bodies, some of them, have been found floating in the Rio Grande. A Mexican general played by Jose Zuniga is threatening to do a Pancho Villa and cross the border as his niece is one of the missing. That prompts the Governor of Texas to dispatch one of his best Texas Rangers, Liam Hemsworth to a remote region to investigate a town called Helena.

A former Confederate colonel Woody Harrelson is a Reverend Jim Jones like character who holds sway there. Hemsworth has his work cut out for them, more than he could ever conceive.

There are certainly elements of The Most Dangerous Game here, but add to that the cult like devotion that Harrelson enjoys. Plus he's making good money for himself and the town of Helena with his most dangerous game. He's opened it up as a business, it's clear that the Mexicans are substitutes for black people as I'm sure the word is out to avoid the area and Mexicans are plentiful across the river.

None of the drama in that original Most Dangerous Game is present here. Harrelson is a compelling figure, Australian Hemsworth is convincing as a Texan.

The whole thing falls way short of a classic and even as a western, most western fans will find this way to weird.

OK for an evenings viewing but no where near a classic western. The deal with the wife totally confused me but otherwise not a bad story line. 7 out of 10 for me. Not many Westerns rate below an 8 with me.

"We cannot separate ourselves from sin anymore than we can sever a limb from our bodies." There has been a rash of unexplained deaths In the small town of Helena, Texas. With no clue as to what is going on, David Kingston (Hemsworth), a Ranger is sent to investigate. When he arrives he discovers some strange characters including Abraham (Harrelson). The more David investigates the more he questions what is happening. This is a movie that had a chance to be really good. The cast is A-list and the plot is interesting. Where the movie fails is the pacing. This is just agonizingly slow that it made it really hard to pay attention to and I was really starting to drift and lose interest in. There are some interesting parts in this but a lot of the drama was lost on me because I struggled to stay involved in what was going on. Overall, a disappointing western that had a chance to be good but was just too slow and boring for me to get invested in. I give this a C-.

Good movie, decent dialogue. I love the twisted nature of this movie. It is a Western version of 'The Most Dangerous Game'. Very fun.

They need to make more Westerns these days, the times, men, women, culture, heck, even the landscape was entirely different. A simpler time with rough rules for those out in the bush and disconnected from the bigger towns of their day.

Nice to see a decent Western vigilante movie made, once again. The acting was superb and a very nice mix of revenge, justice, betrayal and action. Some decent gun shooting too!

This movie will make you want to spend your rent money on a lever action rifle!

The film is definitely a bit slow but I've seen a lot of reviews saying it's 'boring' but personally I think that's harsh. I think it's boring for people who don't like westerns and not that into films. I'm a massive film person and I've seen a lot of films in my time. There's obviously going to be slow films, not every film is going to be action every second. I feel a 6.5 would be perfect but IMDB still haven't introduced a .5 rating system yet. The people rating it 1 2 3 are just people who don't like westerns and know nothing about films so don't listen to them. I can guarantee all the people giving it really low reviews are people who have only done like 5 reviews in there life.

In addition to being lousy, it is agonizingly slow & LONG. Hackneywood is so busy putting out politically-correct trash that they don't even bother to make sense anymore. So little sense. So many questions: 1. Could they really afford these people to "star" in this trash? 2. Do they really think Texas Rangers honored "Take Your Wife To Work For a Month"? WTF? 3. Do they really think that in these days, when someone was asked "Are you religious?", they'd answer "I'm spiritual"??? LMAO!! 4. Not satisfied promoting the wife as a "strong woman", they had to then make a teen girl the hero of the story. Yeah, right. 5. Now the wife, 1 part "strong woman", 1 part psychopathic, 1 part emotional wreck ... what were they thinking? And then her back-story! lmao! There are a dozen more mind-bogglers. I almost gave it 2 stars because the cinematography was great, costumes too, I suppose.