Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Christoph Waltz is Max Borlund, a bounty hunter offered a $2,000 reward if he can bring a wife back alive.

The wife of wealthy Martin Kidd has been kidnapped by Elijah Jones (Brandon Scott), a black trooper who has deserted his post and is now demanding a $10,000 reward for her return.

He’s fled into Mexico, so Borlund follows with Sgt. Poe (Warren Burke), another buffalo soldier, as his companion.

Poe was friends with Jones. In fact, he has a map to where Jones headed. Seems Jones expected Poe to be the soldier delivering the ransom.

But Poe also has a warning for Borlund. If Rachel Kidd (Rachel Brosnahan) is with Poe, it’s of her own choosing. His friend might be a deserter; he isn’t a kidnapper.

Finding the couple — capturing Jones and rescuing Rachel — proves relatively easy. But that’s just the beginning of Borlund’s challenge.

Poe was right. Rachel wasn’t exactly looking to be rescued. And she has absolutely no desire to be reunited with a crooked, abusive, cheating husband.

What’s more, Borlund and Poe have stumbled into an area of Mexico where Tiberio Vargas rules the roost.

And Vargas considers them enemies since he was expecting to wind up with $5,000 of the ransom money to spirit Rachel and Jones out of the area. Borlund has spoiled that deal.

What’s more, Martin Kidd is heading south of the border to collect his wife. More likely to kill her, Rachel warns Borlund.

Then there’s outlaw Joe Cribbens, recently released from prison and with a long-held grudge against Borlund. He’s looking to do a favor for Vargas.

Christoph Waltz as Max Borlund, contemplating the strange twist his new job has taken in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Warren Burke as Sgt. Poe, finding himself tracking down a former friend in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Review:

When you have Christoph Waltz returning to the bounty hunter role he played so memorably in “Django Unchained” (2012), expections among Western fans starved for a new classic are through the roof.

That’s especially true when you have Walter Hill, the guy who brought us “Broken Trail”(2006), “Geronimo: An American Legend” (1993) and “The Long Riders” (1980), in the director’s chair.

This film doesn’t quite meet those lofty expectations. Waltz’s character isn’t as memorable, the cinematography seems rather bland and the “willing” kidnap victim plot seems overused.

But don’t let that keep you from checking out this film. We still get fine performances from all the leads — something that seldom happens in a Western these days — and the plot delivers enough twists to keep thing interesting, especially once the Martin Kidd character gets back in town.

It certainly helped that Hill had a budget obviously much larger than most directors have these days when trying to put together an entertaining Western.

Rachel Brosnahan as Rachel Kidd, stunned by a sudden burst of violence in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Willem Dafoe, pledging to use his gunhand to help Tiberio Vargas in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Directed by:
Walter Hill

Cast:
Rachel Brosnahan … Rachel Kidd
Willem Dafoe … Joe Cribbens
Christoph Waltz … Max Borlund
Hamish Linklater … Martin Kidd
Benjamin Bratt … Tiberio Vargas
Guy Burnet … English Bill
Brandon Scott … Elijah Jones
Gabriela Alicia Ortega … Background
Luis Chavez … Esteban Romero
Warren Burke … Sergeant Poe
Diana Navarrete … Mexican maid
Diane Villegas … Esperanza Hinajosa
Scott Peat … Jack Tyree
Shawn-Caulin Young … Luke Schoonover
Herman Johansen … Capt. Orville Brand
J.D. Garfield … Luis Andrade
Fidel Gomez … Capt. Miguel Aragon
Jackamoe Buzzell … Jack Hannon

Runtime: 107 min.

aka:
Moon of Popping Trees

Hamish Linklater as Martin Kidd, hiring Max Borlund to bring back his wife in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Brandon Scott as Elijah Jones, jumping to Rachel’s defense in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Memorable lines:

Elijah Jones: “You know, you’ve been acting jumpy the last couple of days.”
Rachel Kidd: “I’ve come to realize, my whole life I’ve done impulsive things. They don’t always work out.”

Rachel Kidd to Elijah Jones, as she practices her skill with a derringer: “I’ll never give them the pleasure of watching me cry.”

Sgt. Poe, as riders approach: “Outlaws?”
Max Borlund: “Until proven differently.”

Jack Tyree, one of Vargas’s men, on meeting Max Borlund and his black companion for the first time: “Who the hell are you?”
Sgt. Poe, pulling his pistol: “I’m the fella with the gun. Who the hell are you?”

Benjamin Bratt as Tiberio Vargas, ruler in this here part of Mexico in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Fidel Gomez as Capt. Miguel Aragon, the law in the town where Max Borlund takes refuge in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

English Bill, convinced Cribbens has been cheating at cards: “I’ll tell you this, Mr. Cribbens, you’re damn lucky I’m not wearing a gun.”
Joe Cribbens: “And I’ll tell you this, English Bill, you’re damn lucky I don’t put a bullet up your ass just on general principle.”

Max Borlund, facing a possible showdown with Cribbens: “I’m giving you a clean start. Don’t be a damn fool.”
Joe Cribbens: “I was born a fool.”

Rachel Kidd, after being wounded in a shootout: “I’ll wear my scar as a badge of honor.”

Rachel Brosnahan as Rachel Kidd, practicing her shooting with Elijah Jones (Brandon Scott) by her side in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Luis Chavez as Esteban Romero, talking on Tiberio Vargas’s behalf again in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Scott Peat as Jack Tyree, one of Tiberio Vargas’s men, running afoul of Elijah Jones again in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Warren Burke as Sgt. Poe, backing up Max Borlund in the face of Tiberio’s threat in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Christoph Waltz as Max Borlund, letting Romero know he won’t cower to Vargas’s demands in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Guy Burnet as English Bill, a businessman working a deal with Tiberio in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Jackamoe Buzzell as Jack Hannon, fed up with playing host to Rachel Kidd in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Diane Villegas as the feisty hotel clerk in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Willem Dafoe as Joe Cribbens, being warned not to come after Max Borlund in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Rachel Brosnahan as Rachel Kidd, leeting Borlund know she has no intention of returning to her husband in Dead for a Dollar (2022)

Christoph Waltz as Max Borlund plotting his course with Sgt. Poe (Warren Burke) in Dead for a Dollar (2022)