Nicolas Cage Western ‘The Old Way’ Is Streaming Free on Tubi

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. However, when it comes to any cinematic endeavor, there’s a fine line between paying homage to the past and simply retreading familiar ground. The Old Way falls into the latter of these categories and not the former. A gritty western focusing on revenge and featuring Nicolas Cage almost seems like a sure-fire win for devotees of ham-fisted entertainment. Achieving a dismal score of 36% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Old Way has found a new home on Tubi. The question becomes whether the film deserves its score or if it’s an overlooked diamond in the rough.

Tell Me If You’ve Heard This One Before

Almost any Western released after 1970 can be described as derivative. The efforts of John Ford and Sergio Leone have more or less set the standard for how all Westerns are measured. Almost every entry has been influenced by Stagecoach, The Searchers, or A Fistful of Dollars. The Old Way is riddled with elements from some of the genre’s most notable entries, such as Unforgiven and True Grit. Unfortunately, these elements are so overused that the biggest achievement of The Old Way is reminding audiences of some of the better films that came before it.

The Old Way follows Colton Briggs (Nicolas Cage), a redeemed gunslinger whose past transgressions have returned to seek vengeance in the form of outlaw James McCallister (Noah La Gros), the son of one of his victims. The film’s opening sequence, a flashback to a public hanging in a town square being interrupted, is certainly reminiscent of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Flashing forward 20 years, the reformed Briggs is a general store owner with a wife and a headstrong and inquisitive daughter named Brooke (Ryan Kiera Armstrong).

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The pleasant tranquility of life on the frontier becomes forever altered when McCallister and his gang of outlaws descend on the family home and murder Briggs’ wife (a la Once Upon a Time in the West). The murder will be the catalyst for Briggs’ return to the gunslinger saddle and teaming up with his daughter to exact revenge on McCallister. If all of this seems eerily familiar, it’s because it is, almost to a fault. The first act of The Old Way is incredibly derivative of Unforgiven and True Grit, heavily drawing from aspects of both films. The bulk of the narrative focuses on Briggs teaching his daughter the ways of the gun as the pair set out to exact retribution.

Is the Negative Criticism Justified?

Maintaining objectivity is the duty of any film critic. When it comes to the negative reception that The Old Way has garnered on Rotten Tomatoes, the question becomes, is it justified, or is there any discernible level of quality that’s gone overlooked? Eliminating the derivative aspects of The Old Way from the equation and looking at the film as a whole, there are facets that could lead to a good film, but its faults far outweigh the merits. Plausibility and development are the overriding factors hindering The Old Way from being a better film.

One can argue that enjoying any film requires suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience. The idea of a gunslinger seeking revenge after the tragic loss of a loved one is as much an element of the Western film as saddles and saloons. As a character, Brooke is headstrong and inquisitive, and quickly learns the ways of the gunslinger from her father. She’s a little too good at picking up the techniques one needs to survive in the West. Besides the death of her mother, which serves as the catalyst for revenge, there’s nothing that shows her overcoming personal trauma, and she seems relatively indifferent throughout much of the film. The shortcomings of her character further illustrate the second issue that hinders The Old Way: development.

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A Western with an intricate study of two characters on a quest against a band of outlaws has created movie magic in the past. The only problem is that these aspects must be fleshed out and developed properly. The Old Way, with its 95-minute running time, rushes through its narrative, hitting its major points at breakneck speed. Some of the best Western films with revenge as their central theme take the time to develop characters and establish motives and locations.

A shorter running time works when it’s a singular character study, but with multiple characters intertwining with one another, the plot can feel rushed. A major focal point of the film is the relationship between Brooke and Briggs, but much of it falls prey to being tedious and slows the film down to a crawl. Somehow, The Old Way manages to be too long and too short.

Where Can I Watch ‘The Old Way’?

Despite its shortcomings, there’s a chance you might find The Old Way an intriguing watch. The Western featuring Nicolas Cage is currently streaming for free on Tubi.