Tags: blog, film, thriller, action, 2025, recommended
Author: KickingK
Date: Saturday September 06th, 2025
Young Blades (Go For It)
It’s been ten years since John Maclean last turned the Western genre on its head.
Slow West subverted expectations by having a very traditional setting that gradually unspools in very untraditional storytelling. This time he’s flipping it around. The story itself is roughly what you would expect. A story of thievery, criminal gangs, backstabbing and revenge. It’s very well done and has a slightly non-linear structure that works exceptionally well, getting into the drama without delay. Tension right from the off.
It’s the setting that tilts everything into a weird, off-kilter zone where everything’s familiar and yet unsettlingly
It’s still the Wild, Wild West, but now it’s the west highlands of Scotland. There’s plenty of quick-draw showdowns, twitchy hands, itching to draw weapons, but the weapons are swords. The main character is a samurai.
There’s also plenty of shots of the crisp, clear, sun drenched landscapes. But instead of feeling the parched heat, you get cut through by a frigid, Scottish spring breeze.
And the cinematography is pure Western. Wide, glorious, sweeping landscapes mixed with tight, tense close-ups of tight, tense faces. Usually covered in dirt, stubble and wrinkles.
All the actors turn in terrific performances. Tim Roth is superb as the gang leader, managing to be convincing as a brutal, ruthless killer, whilst still engendering sympathy for having to put up with and deal with the gangs stupidity and greed. I’ve always thought (probably terribly unfairly) that Jack Lowden comes across as an unlikeable tosser, so he’s perfectly cast as the most unlikeable tosser in a gang of complete scum.
However, the absolute star of the film is the composer, Jed Kursal, who turns in a moody, dramatic spaghetti western of a score. It’s rich and muscular and flows over every scene, adding colour to everything.
I’m a little torn. On the one hand, this is so good that I wish Maclean would speed up his output from one film per decade. Whilst on the other hand, if it’s going to be as good as this, it’ll be well worth the wait.
