As you know, I’ve just arrived back in Berlin, and during the mind-numbing flight over I had the opportunity to finally catch Jane Got A Gun. Expectations were low. The troubled production didn’t phase me too much, as sometimes magic can be found by flying by the seat of your pants, but the shrugging reviews certainly didn’t have me expecting the next Heat.

On the positive side, it’s pretty entertaining and I quite enjoyed seeing Natalie play something of a bad ass. There’s still plenty of desperation in the performance, like one of the better flashback scenes, but Jane is one tough cookie.

The film never outstays its welcome, but this was as much as a problem as it was a benefit. The whole film feels incredibly slight. The inciting incident happens immediately. Characters who you expect would have a drawn out interaction with the main characters are dispensed in the blink of an eye. It’s both refreshing and also frustrating. Epic is certainly not a word you’d associate with this film.

The flashbacks are (mostly) another problem, and I wonder if they were a late addition to the script because they felt somewhat tagged on.

Given the horror of the production, I suppose it’s fortunate that they were able to get a half-decent film out of it. But given the tumultuous history of the film, it feels really strange that the film itself is the least interesting part of any of it.