Mild-mannered sheep farmer Albert Stark (Seth MacFarlane) feels certain that the Western frontier is trying to kill him, then he loses his girlfriend, Louise (Amanda Seyfried), to the town's most successful businessman. However, a beautiful, pistol-packing woman named Anna (Charlize Theron) rides into town and helps Albert find his inner courage. Then Stark must put his newfound bravery to the test when Anna's outlaw husband arrives with plans to plant him in an unmarked grave.
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Cast: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried,
Giovanni Ribisi, Liam Neeson
Release Date: May
30, 2014
Genres: Comedy Western, Outlaw (Gunfighter) Film,
Comedy, Western
Review:
After the surprising success of Ted, my expectation of Seth
MacFarlane next live action film were fairly high. Sadly, A Million
Ways to Die in the West doesn’t live up to
expectations. It plays out like an
extended “Road to…” episode of Family Guy with very little in the way of
innovation, satire or even laughs. It
will bring a grin to your face from time to time but MacFarlane seems to forget
he’s making a comedy and seems more interested in making a clichéd
western. Outside of the occasional
MacFarlane riffs on how horrible the old west was, there isn’t a ton to the
plot. As a result the story as a whole
lacks forward momentum with noticeable dead spots spread across the bloated run
time, most obvious during the climax of the forced storyline with MacFarlane
and Theron. A Million Ways to Die in the
West is one of those films that has a few false endings and then it drags on
for another 20 minutes longer than it should, essentially wasting Liam Neeson’s screen time. A few laughs here and there will never
replace Blazing Saddles.
C-
