Renegade (2004)

Mike Blueberry is such a wayward youngster that he’s sent West to be whipped into manhood by his uncle.

On his first night in his new home, Blueberry sneaks into town to visit a lovely lady of the night (Vahina Giocante), who makes him a man in a totally different way.

But a fast gun named Wallace “Wally” Sebastian Blount (Michael Madsen) has already put his brand on this whore. And he stops by while Blueberry and Madeleine are basking in the afterglow of their recent coupling.

By the time the ensuing confrontation ends, Madeleine is dead with a bullet to the head. Blueberry has leaped out the window of the saloon, a bullet lodged in his shoulder. And the saloon is ablaze from a lamp knocked over in the gunplay.

Indians rescue and raise Blueberry, teaching his their ways and their mystical powers.

Years later, he’s a lawman in a town near the Indian’s sacred mountains. The whites have heard those mountains are filled with gold and are looking for any reason to enter them.

That includes rancher Greg Sullivan, whose daughter Maria has her eye on Blueberry.

And that includes an old acquaintance of Blueberry’s — Blount, who just happens to show up in town as well.

Vincent Cassel as Mike Blueberry, trying to protect the cliff dwellers who saved his life in Renegade (2004)

Michael Madsen as Wallace Sebastian Blount, the man who won’t hesitate to kill in Renegade (2004)

Review:

Unless you like you’re Western chock full of witch doctor mumbo, jumbo, this will likely strike you as an interesting failure. For long stretches, director Kounen treats us to special effect images of what look like insects and monsters swirling across the screen as characters battle for possession of their souls.

The “Western” portions of the movie, on the other hand, are very well filmed and acted, though Vincent Cassel certainly doesn’t have the appearance of the heroic type.

Michael Madsen, who would eventually rent himself out for cameos in some absolutely awful Westerns, is effective here as the villain.

The film also features one of the best character names in recent Westerns. Ernest Borgnine plays a wheelchair-bound, shotgun-toting deputy. He’s known as Rolling Star.

Geoffrey Lewis and Juliette Lewis play father and daughter in this film, just as they are in real life. Juliette earned an Oscar nomination in 1991 for her role as Danielle Bowden in “Cape Fear,” which starred Robert DeNiro. She also starred in the controversial Oliver Stone film, “Natural Born Killers.”

Geoffrey Lewis as Greg Sullivan, the rancher after the gold on Indian land in Renegade (2004)

Juliette Lewis as Maria Sullivan, watching Blueberry try to ride one of her dad’s horses in Renegade (2004)

Directed by:
Jan Kounen

Cast:
Vincent Cassel .. Mike Blueberry
Juliette Lewis … Maria Sullivan
Michael Madsen … Wallace Sebastian Blount
Temuera Morrison … Runi
Ernest Borgnine … Rolling Star
Colm Meaney … Jimmy McClure
Hugh O’Conor … Young Mike Blueberry
Geoffrey Lewis … Greg Sullivan
Kateri Walker … Kateri
Vahina Giocante … Madeleine
Eddie Izzard … Prosit
Djimon Hounsou … Woodhead

aka:
Blueberry

Score:
Jean-Jacques Hertz
Francois Roy

Runtime: 124 min.

Eddie Izzard as Prosit, searching for gold on Indian land in Renegade (2004)

Djimon Hounsou as Woodhead, searching for gold in Indian territory in Renegade (2004)

Memorable lines:

Wallace Sebastian to Indian girl Runi: “Don’t be afraid. I don’t kill animals.”

Sebastian: “Animals are beasts. But men are monsters.”

Hugh O’Conor as young Mike Blueberry in Renegade (2004)

Vahina Giocante as Madeleine, catching the eye of a young Mike Blueberry in Renegade (2004)

Ernest Borgnine as Rolling Star, a wheelchair bound deputy in Renegade (2004)

Colm Meaney as Jimmy McClure in Renegade (2004)

Michael Madsen as Wallace Sebastian Blount in Renegade (2004

Juliette Lewis as Maria Sullivan, the daughter of a powerful rancher in Renegade (2004)

Vincent Cassel as Mike Blueberry, haunted by the death of a pretty whore in Renegade (2004)

Michael Madsen as Wallace Sebastian Blount reclaiming Madeleine (Vahina Giocante) in Renegade (2004)