The Warrant: Breaker’s Law (2023)

Neal McDonough is John Breaker, a U.S. Marshal who’s managed to serve a murder warrant on vicious outlaw Henry “Dead-Eye” Bronson.

He and tracking parter Bugle Bearclaw (Gregory Cruz) take their prisoner to Johnson City, only to find the law indisposed and the cavalry on the verge of pulling out to deal with more urgent matters.

Translation: Col. Dredge doesn’t have time to hold a trial to determine what he already knows — that Bronson deserves to die.

Breaker balks at the rush to judgment and decides to deliver Bronson to the town of Absolem Hill personally, though he’s been warned that will mean a difficult journey.

Turns out the most of the difficulty comes when he reaches the nearly abandoned town, under seige by Bronson’s twin brother Yule and his gang because of the gold being held in the town bank.

Those left defending the town include an aging judge (Bruce Boxleitner) and a female bank manager (Amy Hargreaves), both of whom are quite familiar with the U.S. Marshal.

And having “Dead-Eye” Bronson as a bargaining chip isn’t going to help John Breaker one little bit.

Neal McDonough as John Breaker, determined to see justice dispensed fairly, even to a killer, in The Warrant Breaker’s Law (2023)

Dermot Mulroney as Yule Bronson, a vicious gang leader who enjoys the kill in The Warrant Breaker’s Law (2023)

Review:

A follow-up to 2000’s “The Warrant,” also starring McDonough and also directed by Brent Christy, this is going to be a pleasant surprise to genre fans forced to endure a steady diet of underwhelming low-budget Westerns.

Not that this is a big-budget film. But the cast can act. There’s plenty of action. There’s some clever dialogue. There are touches of humor that won’t make you groan. Heck, there’s even a neat little twist at the end.

Here’s another pleasant surprise. Bruce Boxleitner and Dermot Mulroney are not just big names on a DVD cover designed to entice viewers to check out a film only to discover their participation amounts to brief cameos.

They’re major characters, and their performances help make the film as enjoyable as it is. Heck, Mulroney plays two roles.

Another plus: You need not have watched “The Warrant” first to follow or enjoy this film.

Bruce Boxleitner as Judge Thaddeus, defending the town of Absolem Hill in The Warrant Breaker’s Law (2023)

Gregory Cruz as Bugle Bearclaw, John Breaker’s right-hand man in serving warrants in The Warrant Breaker’s Law (2023)

Directed by:
Brent Christy

Cast:
Neal McDonough … John Breaker
Dermot Mulroney … Henry Bronson / Yule Bronson
Bruce Boxleitner …. Judge Thaddeus
Gregory Cruz … Bugle Bearclaw
Amy Hargreaves … Charlotte
John Patrick Jordan … Rufus McGillicuddy
Lou Beatty Jr. …. Chuck Left Foot
Tom Proctor … Rogue Watson
Nick Searcy … Colonel Dredge
Bobby Stephens … Tommy Burr
Booger Brown … Buckskin
Jackson Reid Kelly … Brig Farkus
Keith Merriweather … Sombrero
Craig Hensley … Doc Carson
Brett Brock … Marshal McKosky
Prima Apollinaare … Francesca
Robert Jensen … Deputy White
Glen Gold … Miner

Runtime: 88 min.

Lou Beatty Jr. as Chuck Left Foot, one of Judge Thaddeaus allies in The Warrant Breaker’s Law (2023)

Amy Hargreaves as Charlotte, daughter of Judge Thaddeus and equally determined to defend Absolem Hill in The Warrant Breaker’s Law (2023)

Memorable lines:

Col. Dredge: “I guess it’s not too healthy in your line of work, being famous.”
John Breaker: “I don’t think it’s healthy, period.”
Dredge: “Well, at least in the Army, more famous you become, farther you get from the front. But you lawmen, they just keep pushing you deeper and deeper into the troubles.”

John Breaker: “Hard’s easy when you know it’s right.”

Yule Bronson: “When did you turn in the gavel for a trigger?”
Judge Thaddeus, wielding a shotgun: “Gavel or triggers, justice is justice.”

John Breaker: “Thought I’d be taller, did you?”
Stranger: “Nah. Younger.”
Breaker: “Well, you see that’s the problem with always being the last man standing: You get old.”

Judge Thaddeus, of the Bronson twins: “They’re the opposite sides of the same evil. They attract bad, but repel each other.”

Chuck, approaching a wounded judge with a large knife: “I dug for gold all my life. I guess I can dig for lead too.”

Neal McDonough as John Breaker, getting ready to ride off to Absolem Hill in The Warrant Breaker’s Law (2023)

Dermot Mulroney as Henry ‘Dead-Eye’ Bronson, Yule Bronson’s twin brother in The Warrant Breaker’s Law (2023)

Tom Proctor as Rogue Watson, a member of Yule Bronson’s gang in The Warrant Breaker’s Law (2023)

Nick Searcy as Colonel Dredge, a man prepared to execute John Breaker’s prisoner in The Warrant Breaker’s Law (2023)

Neal McDonough as John Breaker with his prisoner, ready to negotiate with Yule Bronson’s gang in The Warrant Breaker’s Law (2023)

Dermot Mulroney as Yule Bronson with Judge Thaddeus (Bruce Boxleitner) under his gun in The Warrant Breaker’s Law (2023)