Robert O’Kelly is on a mining expedition in New Mexico with three partners and strikes gold.
While Smokey, one of those partners, is off putting on his pants and taking a piss, bandits sneak from behind a blanket strung up as a shelter.
When Smokey returns, he finds all three partners dead and the gold gone. Robert O’Kelly has a bullet in the back of his head.
Smokey sends a telegram to O’Kelley’s sons, Jesse (Justin “JD” Marmion) and Frank (Frank Powers), alerting them to the tragedy.
Soon, the trio set out on the vengeance trail. Their goal: Find and kill Kurt Fowler.
Along the way, they cross paths with some of the most famous personalities in the West, from William Bonney to Doc Holliday to prizefighter John L. Sullivan.
Their mission is going to be complicated by the bounty hunters on their trail.
That’s because Jesse jokes that his name is James in a bar one night.
From then on, the brothers O’Kelly are mistaken for Frank and Jesse James.
Justin ‘JD’ Marmion as Jesse O’Kelly, playing cards in a rigged game of poker in James Brothers — Retribution (2023)
Frank Powers as Frank O’Kelly, trying to keep everyone calm during a tense game of cards in James Brothers — Retribution (2023)
Review:
An absolute muddled mess of a low-budget Western that’s so incoherent it will make your head hurt.
The concept of two revenge-minded brothers named Jesse and Frank being mistaken for the James brothers might have made a good movie. This isn’t it.
Or, considering all the famous names thrown about, the film might have worked as a tall tale being told by grandpa to entertain the children gathered around.
Except that no child would be able to follow a story that includes all these tangents and flashbacks.
And no sensible grandpa would tell innocent-faced youths a story filled with all the killings and sadistic violence this “tale” includes.
Yep, there is a grandpa telling the story here. Guess what? The children get up and head home before the film reaches it’s climax!
My, oh, my, what a filmmaking calamity.
Robert Womack as Kurt Fowler, the sadistic killer the O’Kelly brothers are seeking in James Brothers — Retribution (2023)
Kevin Wester as Smokey McCallister, concerned about how the O’Kelly boys will react to their father’s death in James Brothers — Retribution (2023)
Directed by:
Frank Powers
Cast:
Robert Womack … Kurt Fowler
Kevin Wester … Smokey McCallister
Jimmy “Bo” Fowler … Damien Lee
Justin “JD” Marmion … Jesse O’Kelly / James
Frank Powers … Frank O’Kelly / James
Brian Celly … William Bonney
H. Michelle Martinez … Amada Orozco
Gonzalo Robles … Antonio Poderez
Scott Engrotti … Alan Pinkerton
Tony Toste … Samuel Thomas
Mo Kelly … Miss Mesmerizing
Arturo Portillo … Dallas Stoudenmire
Jerry Walker … Nat Love
David “Nino” Rodriguez … John Wesley Hardin
Jay J. Aarmes … J. Wright
Harmony Schlesinger … Bella
James “Wayne” Powers … Old Frank
Ryan Walker … Doc Holiday
Manny Rubio … P.T. Barnum
Runtime: 92 min.
James ‘Wayne’ Powers telling part of his story to his grandchildren in James Brothers — Retribution (2023)
Brian Celly as William Bonney, encountering Pat Garrett in Brothers James — Retribution (2023)
Memorable lines:
Frank, referring to a killing during a bank holdup: “Why’d you shoot that girl, Jesse?”
Jesse: “Thought it’d be a good distraction.”
William Bonney, after charging into the brothers campsite, six-gun drawn: “I didn’t mean you fellas no harm. I’m just passing through.”
William Bonney, learning the brothers are headed to old New Mexico: “Business or pleasure?”
Jesse: “We’re hunting down the man who killed our pa.”
William Bonney: “A little bit of both then.”
Jesse: “Absolutely.”
Smoky McCallister to the whore who’s been sitting in bed doing her nails while he spies on a poker game across the street as he leaves the room: “By the way, darling, you were amazing.”
Jesse, passing coin to the orphan child Pascal, who’s mom was killed when bounty hunters came looking for the James brothers: “Hey, kid, take this. Find somebody that’s gonna feed ya and love ya and all that other horse shit. Sorry about what happened to your ma. Now get the hell outa here.”
Gonazlo Robles as Antonio Poderez, one of the bounty hunters on the trail of the James brothers in James Brothers — Retribution (2023)
H. Michelle Martinez as Amada Orozco, the Mexican woman who helps the O’Kelly brothers in James Brothers — Retribution (2023)
Frank Powers as Frank O’Kelly, about to take on prizefighter John L. Sullivan in James Brothers — Retribution (2023)
Justin ‘JD’ Marmion as Jesse O’Kelly, trying to explain that he’s not a James brother in James Brothers — Retribution (2023)
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