Set in the cowboy era of the American west, the film follows the tribulations of the sleepy town of Wardlaw after their local bank is robbed by vicious outlaw Johnny Rios (John Castellanos), who guns down several people during the crime, including a mother and daughter. He is soon caught by Sheriff Bob Gimbol, played by veteran actor Michael Gregory, and thrown in the tiny town jail. The townsfolk soon worry that Rios' notoriously violent family may soon come and break him out. Unfortunately, the drunk, whoring mayor refuses to move the prisoner to a bigger city with more resources because he sees holding a high profile trial in Wardlaw as an opportunity to advance his career.

Complicating things is the fact that Rios was once the lover of the Sheriff's wife Lana (Leslie Easterbrook), and could be the father of the Sheriff's adopted daughter Jen (Hallie Pierce). This causes some understandable consternation on the Sheriff's part when he learns of it, and throws up a few moral dilemmas. Should he just kill Rios? Should he let him go and save the town from the inevitable bloodbath if the Rios clan comes to save their brother? Does he have any obligation to help the town when its citizens are too cowardly to assist him? Unfortunately, none of these potential areas of conflict or dramatic tension are given more than a nod, and the final showdown with Johnny Rios and his family is a flat and boring display of unrealistic action.

In most areas, the film is a failure. The trouble begins as soon as the opening credits start to roll, and the tinny synth score begins. For a film set in the old west, the thoroughly modern music does nothing but immediately yank the viewer from the period and damage any ability to lose oneself in the narrative from the get go. Many other instances of modern sensibilities intruding onto the putatively nineteenth century narrative abound. A few examples: characters use words and phrases such as "cool", "hey, baby" and "oh, man". While it's possible that these were in isolated use in the cowboy era, they sound modern to the ear and are quite jarring in context. Also, at one point a dance hall girl / prostitute has a clearly visible tattoo on her left breast. Once again, tattoos have been around for a long time, but it seems modern, and would have been better covered in makeup. Most damning, at one point a ceiling fan is clearly visible behind the Sheriff in the cantina.

The biggest reason the film fails to succeed seems to be a simple lack of care. The script feels hastily thrown together, with clunky dialogue and often inexplicable character actions. Johnny Rios kills the woman and child in the bank for literally no reason, except perhaps that he simply likes killing. Is it wise to base the most vital plot point in the film on the idea that the villain is just plain bad? At a later point, a man walks into a bar and asks the bartender, "Where are they?" The bartender nods to a group of men sitting at a table. The group of men who happen to be the only people in the bar, and who were in the direct line of sight of the man when he walked in. Later still, the bank manager is cleaning the floor of the bank, presumably of bloodstains left when his sister and niece were gunned down by Rios. The Sheriff is talking to the bank manager, trying to convince him to aid in the defense of the town. Their conversation ends when a funeral procession passes by. He stops his cleaning, and joins the procession, at which point we learn that it is the funeral of his sister and niece! Pardon my naiveté, but I know few people who would miss half of the funeral service of a close relative so that they can scrub the floor. The shame is that all of these false notes could easily have been rectified with just a little effort, either in the initial writing or when shooting. Just as when later the shadow of the camera man and boom mike are clearly visible against a wall, a reshoot and some minor repositioning would solve the problem. Or the black void outside of the town hall set which clearly marks it as a set and not a location, which could have been addressed with a few lights and a backdrop. Why weren't these efforts made?

The two best actors in the piece, Michael Gregory and John Castellanos, still don't have much to work with, either in terms of dialogue or competent actors to play off of. Most of the other actors are marginal at best, though a few are recognizable from other work. Honestly, there is precious little to praise, and much more to criticize than has been detailed here. Retribution Road is a limp effort, dashed off on the cheap, that does not satisfy on any level.

The DVD

Video:
The video is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, but has a lot of flaws. There is significant grain visible from time to time, as well as a lot of aliasing and occasional lens dirt. The colors can be a bit odd as well, often making human skin look orange. This is not a good looking film.

Sound:
The sound is Dolby 2 channel, and also has problems. Dialogue is often difficult to make out or echoes. In at least one instance, wind noise overwhelms the microphone. Subtitles are available in English and Spanish, but no alternate language track is available.

Extras:
The only extras included are trailers for other Lionsgate releases: 3:10 to Yuma, High Noon, Horsemen and The Spirit.

Final Thoughts:
Retribution Road is a disappointment on many levels. The story is clichéd and derivative. The dialogue is clunky and the characters poorly fleshed out. Sloppiness and a lack of care are evident throughout. Numerous modernisms repeatedly remind the viewer that this is just a movie, and destroy any verisimilitude. This one is not worth the effort.