Forsaken is directed by Jon Cassar and written by Brad Mirman. It stars Kiefer Sutherland, Donald Sutherland, Brian Cox, Michael Wincott, Aaron Poole and Demi Moore. Music is by Jonathan Goldsmith and cinematography by Rene Ohashi.

There's a group of words bandied around for this one such as generic, cliché and formulaic, and most assuredly these can not be argued about. For this is very much an old style traditional Western, the plot featuring a retired gunslinger being pushed into action again - while he tries to reconcile with his estranged father - is a hard core staple of 1950s Westerns. But what is wrong with having a traditional Western in this day and age as long as it's produced with skill and grace? The answer for Western lovers is nothing at all.

This is a beautifully mounted picture, fronted by father and son Sutherland's - which adds heartfelt emotion to their scenes together - and boosted by gorgeous cinematography (making it a Blu-ray must), it's a genre piece of worth. Crucially it knows what it wants to be, it has no pretence to be anything other than a traditional Oater for lovers of such. The villains are sneery and scenery chewers - apart from Wincott who is a gentleman dandy type - and the good guy is wonderfully broody and reflective. Pacing is fine, the story has good drama and the finale excites as we hope it should.

In summary, nothing new here of course (except maybe Cox's out of place language!), so expectation of such would be foolhardy, but a smashing Western it be. 7/10

It's the first film together for Keifer and Donald Sutherland, playing father and son who have been estranged for a while and are reunited after the death of Kiefer's mother and Donald's wife. Keifer was once known as a fast shot, but he has put away his guns in his efforts to turn his life around. But it's obvious he's going to need these weapons again as his father's Community is being harassed by land baron Brian Cox's vile gang who has no hesitation in violently killing people who refuse to sell their land cheaply to them.

I don't know what kind of filters they used in the photography, if they use them at all, but there is something very moody in the way that this is filmed, and that element makes it gorgeous. Most of the colors inside seem to be pastels, but when the camera focuses on dozens of trees together, the greens are very vibrant and the vista is stunning. Demi Moore has a nice supporting role as Keifer's old girlfriend who is now married and mother of a young son. She is photographed as slightly weather-beaten but still attractive, and she really looks the part a woman in the old west. Nice to see her loosen up her glamour and be real.

The film itself is very violent, a dark reminder that classic Hollywood westerns didn't always show the hardships people in the middle of nowhere faced. Cox and his gang are villains with no remorse, not only content to beat someone senseless, but shooting at their victims in a way that stuns them at first before they go in for the real kill. It is shocking and repulsive, but the film doesn't hesitate to show the viewer what these innocent farmers were up against.

Both Sutherlands are very good, and as their estrangement decreases, Keifer realizes that he at least has two temporarily pull his guns back out to fight for what's right. It's ironic that for a film that is so physically violent that the characters have a soft way of speaking, even when everything around them seems Blake. That makes it much more powerful than had it been more loud and angry. Subtlety really controls the mood here, and for that, I give this a higher rating than I might have otherwise.

John Henry Clayton (Kiefer Sutherland) returns to his western home sometime after the Civil War. He discovers Donald Sutherland (Rev. Clayton) is still alive and doing films while his mother has died. Rev. Clayton does everything he can to make his son feel unwanted, but to no avail, he stays. We then discover some bad guys are forcing the ranchers to sell their land. We don't know why, but this is a theme of half the western films out there, normally involving either the railroad or goldmine. John Henry has an old girlfriend (Demi Moore) that has moved on without him. If you have ever seen a western before you got a pretty good idea what happens...even the lines got to be predictable.

In spite of this being identical to so many westerns and Donald Sutherland pontificates in too many scenes, the film was done well for fans of the genre. Keifer gives us one fine emotional scene in the church and I liked the original title "Redemption" a bit better.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity