Kyle Smith

Kyle Smith

Movies

Revenge western ‘The Salvation’ may be conventional, but it finishes strong

A serviceable but derivative revenge Western, “The Salvation” is set on the frontier in 1871, when a Danish immigrant (Mads Mikkelsen) runs afoul of two men on a stagecoach. Bodies begin to pile up quickly.

The immigrant and his brother take on a local desperado (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) who’s so absurdly psychotic he seems as if he’d be more at home in “Blazing Saddles” than “Unforgiven.” Eva Green is also on hand, as an abused woman whose tongue was cut out by Indians when she was a girl.

Though the film is well-paced and competently realized, it relies too much on dull conventions, like the villain leaving the captured hero alone long enough for rescue maneuvers to take place. Still, Mikkelsen’s icy stare, and a strong finale, make the film worth a go.