Critical Reviews
Slamdance (August 17, 2018)
This screenplay offers an engaging, dynamic Western with strong elements of both comedy and drama. The cast of characters is notably ethnically diverse, which is very welcome and feels refreshingly unique for a period Western. The large ensemble cast is also witty, spirited and charismatic, particularly the ponchero Lew Dang.
The action is well-choreographed, and the dialogue is consistently funny, with a great punchy sense of Western sass and energy. The story also compellingly touches on themes that still feel very topical and relevant today, including racial prejudice, police brutality, and government corrupt mistreatment of indigenous people and their land ownership rights.
Slamdance – review #2 (August 20, 2018)
It’s such a cool story and I think the dialogue and action sequences have such a classic timeless feel. I loved the unique conflict and setting. It’s eminently readable but a trim of fat would help it read at a pace more akin to what it’d be like on screen.
ScriptGal (June 23, 2017)
It’s really hard to distill this very complex, ensemble story down to a single logline that conveys any of the excitement, humor, and intricacies of this script. The writer has done nothing short of a heroic job weaving these different yet connecting storylines together, while incorporating flashbacks to show what the former gang were like in their heyday. Even calling them a “gang” feels reductive – they were a family. They weren’t (necessarily) committing crimes, rather they were advocating for social justice in the everchanging, late 1800s American West.
So overall…. I really enjoyed this script! It felt, at times, like the Quentin Tarantino version of SILVERADO! In a good way. As mentioned, the characters and dialogue are really very strong. And we are invested in the story of these four former brothers-in-arms. I think it’s very smart that they end up – post-gang – working together and against one another. I also love the backdrop of the conflict between the different ethnic groups and how that drives the action. The Native Americans are being moved off their lands. Some blacks are free landowners, others live in homes resembling little more than shanties, some are cowboys, but none are really welcome in Copper City proper. Lew is an Asian but his group seems to be considered, for lack of a better phrase, “closer to white.”
Screenplay Mechanic (July 27, 2017)
Above all else, the characters are great, the tone is a blast, and the “world” of the story and the themes swirling within are compelling.