DC Showcase: Jonah Hex (2010) Reviews

• DC Showcase Jonah Hex: Better than the feature movie, there I said it

  Platypuschow2018-01-31

  Jonah Hex has never been on my radar, when the live action film appeared I didn't even know it was DC until I watched it and alike most viewers I was far from impressed. These little DC Showcase shorts are great for introducing people to new characters/ones they aren't familiar with and this is a great concept. This runs for slightly over ten minutes and manages to tell a story. It's about Jonah rolling into town seeking his bounty but upon learning he's dead he sets about getting revenge on the brothel madam responsible. This was enjoyable, this was on another level than the live action movie. The creators of this need to be handed a budget and allowed to make a feature length movie because based on this it could be really good. The Good: Well written Beautifully animated Original plot Great voice cast The Bad: Still not keen on the character Things I Learnt From This Short: Michael Rooker needs to do more voice work

• Better than the live action film

  xamtaro2010-08-19

  It is hard to believe that the down and dirty wild west adventure envisioned in this 12 minute feature manages to be more gritty, more realistic and more focused than the flop that was the Jonah Hex live action production back in June 2010. The Jonah Hex animated short follows the titular badass bounty hunter on the trail of a wanted man named "Red". Unknown to Hex, Red had stumbled into a seedy saloon, drunk, and ended up on the wrong side of a gun, courtesy of one Madame Lorraine. You see, Lorraine earns a little extra cash on the side by seducing and murdering rich drunks. Hex tracks his quarry to that Saloon and receives a tipoff from a bar girl about Madame Lorraine knowing the whereabouts of Red. In order to to get that information, Hex would need some "private time" with Lorraine. But "private time" is when this black widow and her armed thugs strike. If the previous DC Showcase animated short, The Spectre, was a tribute to 1970s film noir and supernatural thrillers, Jonah Hex pays homage to all those old gritty Clint Eastwood westerns about a badass stranger with no name riding into town seeking out a quarry. More of a character focused piece than a plot driven narrative, the short story puts Hex in a variety of situations that lends insight into his true personality under that deformed face of his. He is cold, merciless and brutal, not to mention a expert gunslinger, but he does have a conscience. Action is a little sparse, but when it comes, it comes like a charging steed. Directed once again by Joaquim Dos Santos, the action is visceral and actually more violent than what one might expect. The entire set up is also a lot more "adult" than the usual animated film, featuring some sexual tension, hot ladies, and a good deal of bloodletting. This is definitely not your grandpa's Cowboy Cartoon. The animation is fluid and the artwork intricately beautiful featuring an orange-ish sun drenched "Washed out" look to enhance the "old west" feel. Technically, this short film is awesome which is a pity that a more epic story did not accompany the great animation. For pity sake Warner, let Mr Dos Santos do a full length animated feature. Here is a bright talent just waiting to be tapped. If he can produce this kind of excellent work on short films, imagine how great a full length movie would be. Anyway, once again this here is a story that both fans of animation and viewers who do not usually watch animation would enjoy. Featuring an all star cast headed by Tomas Jane (The Punisher) and Linda Hamilton (yes, its Sarah Connor), here is one show that has all the potential to be 100% better than its live action counterpart. Its only shortcoming would be that the story serves only as a sort of "a day in the life of...." tale as opposed to an origin story or some big pivotal event. Therefore, it is recommended for the viewer to have some basic knowledge of the Jonah Hex character. Do not miss it. Watch "DC Showcase: Jonah Hex" now in the 2 disc DVD or blu-ray edition of "Batman: Under the Red Hood" or on the "DC Showcase animated shorts" DVD and blu ray slated for November 2010 release.

• A good short representation of the scarred gunslinger

  breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com2012-12-20

  Jonah Hex is one of the few DC characters that doesn't have special powers or lived during the same time as all the others. In a way he is premature version of Marvel's The Punisher because he lost his family. Coincidentally enough, Thomas Jane, who played Frank Castle in The Punisher (2004), voices Jonah Hex in this animated short. Jane gives Hex a nice scratchy voice that comes with his look, which is rather uncomfortable when stared at long enough. This makes Hex that much more intimidating, which is good. The setting wasn't bad looking either, the saloon and desert background were appropriate as were the bartender and bar girls that walked around in skimpy clothing while flirting with other men. Linda Hamilton lends her voice to Madame Lorraine, the villain of this short. Even if Hamilton isn't looking swell for her age anymore, her voice is still very seductive. That also includes Michelle Trachtenberg who's all grown up now from Disney's Inspector Gadget (1999). And the music by The Track Team was good too. It had an acceptable western tone to it. However, I won't give this short ten stars due to the lack of time. It either needs to be a full-length animated feature or live-action. Since the character of Jonah Hex has many stories to tell, this one could've been extended. It has to be an original work, something never put on screen before for me to consider it receiving ten stars. Besides this though, it was fun to watch. As Thomas Jane switches from Marvel to DC, his characterization of Jonah Hex is well performed. Along with Trachtenberg and Hamilton, this short western will make you wish to see more.

• Not for children

  WeAreLive2017-12-03

  I have never seen the Jonah Hex movie or have any knowledge of the actual character itself but this was a pretty decent short however since it is not for children there are a few alcohol and sex references in this short especially since the main villain of the short was subbing men taking them upstairs to get dirty but secretly killing them with a gun. But Jonah Hex stops her and the ending is a mystery.

• A success, as simple as effective

  Horst_In_Translation2015-06-29

  Here we have a 13-minute movie featuring an unlikely hero. The first almost five minutes we see how a cowboy comes to a bar and is lured upstairs by a woman who is apparently a prostitute. But truth is, she is a cold-blooded killer who murdered many men that way and took their money. Just like this time. Her two henchmen help her in getting rid off the corpses afterward. Bad news for her that her latest victim was friend of the mysterious Jonah Hex. He finds out about the lady's business from another female at the bar and helps her get away afterward. Our hero takes the same path as his buddy, but knowingly keeps the woman from shooting him upstairs. Instead, he kills her two partners, then murders the barkeeper, who also was affiliated with the femme fatale. In the end he forces her to show him where he put his buddy's corpse and finds a graveyard with everybody she took out this way. This was actually a very entertaining short movie. The animation was good, the story was simple, but pretty convincing. It got me definitely in the mood to watch a full feature animated movie about Jonah Hex. I know that the Brolin movie did not turn out so well apparently, but I haven't seen it, so I cannot go into detail here. However, this film here has a pretty good cast as well. "Terminator", "The Walking Dead" and "Buffy" are just a few of the live action projects, in which the voice actors starred in and not in small roles. Certainly a good watch. Thumbs up for director Joaquim Dos Santos. He definitely seems to have the right touch for superhero films and I hope he can finally direct a big blockbuster film maybe. Or a Jonah Hex animated movie.