Off the top of my head, I can't recall many period piece Western films that have done well since The Proposition, which came out a decade ago and was made by Australians. Nevertheless, the tone of the genre has veered more towards mortality or emotional conflict. And the 2017 film Justice attempts to take things in a different direction.

Written by John Lewis and Shawn Lewis and directed by Richard Gabai, the film's center is Marshal Thomas McCord (Jackson Rathbone, The Twilight Saga), who visits a small town in the west to reunite his brother who is a preacher. Unbeknownst to McCord, his brother was murdered by a violent pimp named Reb (Lewis), and one of his prostitutes was being helped by the preacher. Once he learns of his brother's fate, he attempts to exact retribution for the murder by those responsible parties, up to and including the town's Mayor named Pierce (Stephen Lang, Avatar), who wishes to restart a Civil War that the country finished a couple of years prior.

I appreciate the effort of Justice to venture into a fairly forgotten area of film and try to tell a story. That said, the story the film tells is one that many films have told before, much less a story from Western films. Protagonist runs into tragic moment, finds big bad antagonist behind it. Protagonist falls in love (in this case played by Sopranos alum Jamie Lynn-Sigler), the relationship may get compromised as a result, then the third act becomes a free-for-all, or maybe not.

It would have helped if the performances brought something to the table since the story didn't but alas, they don't. Rathbone is average, Lang and Sigler telegraphed their performances, since phones weren't available in 1868. There isn't anything that the ensemble does to break out of the character stereotypes that have been done and re-done through the years, and they don't even try to bring much of their own voice to them. So in sum, boring story, executed boringly by boring performances.

I think you can differentiate between not bringing anything to the table and bringing nothing to the table, and Justice falls firmly in the latter. The film occupies space in your head for 90 minutes and then leaves, wasting the time of those involved. If one decides to put their film into a genre that has been done several times before, you better be sure to either have something in the script or inspire your cast to stretch their legs out for it, and it does neither. I'll stick with the Westerns I know and love, thanks.

Universal gives Justice an AVC encode to go with its 1.78:1 widescreen high-definition presentation with perfectly adequate image quality. The New Mexico exteriors are replicated accurately and nicely, with green trees against the light browns of the dirt presenting a good color contrast that was devoid of noticeable oversaturation. Image detail is present in clothing and facial cragging though is inconsistent (given presuming modest production values, not a surprise). All in all it was the transfer I expected it to be.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless surround track is fine. It doesn't blow your doors off or impress you with moments of standout channel panning or immersion, key among them being the usual third act gunfire. Those effects are present and they sound good, but aren't impressive enough to go back the moment(s) in the film. Dialogue is well-balanced and like the more dynamic moments is okay without being overly memorable. Nice to listen to, not enough to really impress.

Zippo.

I'm not entirely sure what it was that Justice was attempting to do with this film, but it disappoints as a Western, as a drama, even as a star vehicle for Jackson Rathbone. It seems to have been done by people who like Westerns but don't really get into the motivations for why they love them. Technically the film is fine, and no extras was no surprise, honestly. You're better off with better productions in this genre and avoiding this one.