Eamonn Reviews Badland: Road To Fury (known as Young Ones in America)

I'll Level with you, I never heard of this film. And I'm Sure Many haven't.

So I was planning to Fill out this review with Storyline elements for a game of Two Halves and No Quarter. I HAD NO HOPE FOR THIS FILM I JUST FOUND IN A BARGAIN BIN! 

HOW WRONG WAS I?

....Well you'll find out as you progress onward and downward, as we cross the Badland!

 ....and to the right of this desert, overlooked by a Moon so big, Linkara is foaming at the Mouth, Paul WS Anderson is Filming his wife MULTIPASS! IN THE SHITTY MONSTER HUNTER FILM NOONE WANTED!

We are off to a Bad Start, the Menu screen for the dvd doesn't even have BGM, Signature are not a big studio, but still!

And it's Just as Bare Bones the first five minutes, as it's a Soundless Credit Roll. Black Screen and tiny White Time New Roman Text!

We Truly Open to Stock Desert Footage. The World has being Plunged into Drought and a water Crisis and now Society has Crumbled, we cut 2 men in robes breaking into a Out-Building. 

The Owner of said Building is Ernest Hoult. (Michael Shannon) shoots one of the water-thieves trying to get into the well. the second feign's sadness, even pissing himself, before turning to shoot Ernest, But Dies. the Noise Alerting a Young Mailman with a Donkey who offers help.

Turns out the Mailman is in fact Ernest son, Jerome (Kodi Smit-McPhee), and Ernest is not Fond of him referred to as anything but "Dad" . In the Distant Future, there is still one thing you can rely on! One Constant-EXPOSISTION FM- BROADCASTING PLOTLINES, EVEN IN THE END TIMES!

The Us Government has agreed to Start Re-Drilling in the Western States for water, Just as Ernest's Well gives up the Ghost, But The Government Ran Pipeline is more of A protection Racket than a Service!

So in No Uncertain Terms, The Government are Screwing over smaller farmers for big Corporations, Ernest is also hinted as being a secret Drunk, as Caleb the Foreman makes a comment about how much "Ernest Hates Being Dry"

Matters Become Worse when the Donkey Trips and becomes lame and Ernest has no qualms with Putting a Bullet in the animal as Jerome hides and cries. Ernest not that heartless as he tell Jerome, never to be ashamed to cry if you have to.

Ernest has a Daughter too, named Mary (Elle Fanning) who works as a Waitress prepping Sludge like food rations and they don't get along. She sees him as the reason Mom is the Hospital. They Discuss going to Visit her but Mary sneaks out and leaves via a mystery man's Motorbike!

The Next day the Holt Boys are at a Machine Auction. The Budget of this film has gone into Making Life-Sized CGI of Lego Technic Sets. Including The Mech that will be auctioned off, a Crawler with a Carrying Basket on 4 Pneumatic Legs that give it a Canine Like walk and mannerisms. The Holts Win the Machine in a bidding war against the Son of the Local Gambling Magnate/Mayor, Fleming Lever (Nicolas Hoult) who takes the loss by Pouting at Ernest, AGGRESSIVELY!

They Visit there Wife and Mother at Hospital in Rehab for Broken Legs. She has Prosthetic Limbs over her real Legs and Is Made to stand and walk via a network of Overhanging wires. After Visiting her, they refuel at a gas station, Trying to avoid a freeloading family using their newborn to beg. Ernest only intervenes when he learns that Robbie, the father tried to sell his Baby for Water! Ernest over hears a conversation of Robbie and Jerome, Robbie quoting the sexual Conquest of his Sister by Mary's new boyfriend, ("She Tastes like Lemon, but smells like Shit!")

That is not Why it's called Cloudy Lemonade!

As Mary paints her toenails in the next scene, Fleming comes to talk to Ernest. Actually it's to call the farmer a cheat and to take back "his" Machine. He'll Let Him Rent "His" Machine. Ernest tells him he won fair and Square, Flem can use his machine for free, just radio in a day in advance. Flem tells Ernest to Screw his Bleeding Heart. It was that reason his wive's legs were broken by the Water-men.

Down on his luck, Ernest has no Choice but to work for the same men who did him wrong, to make sure his land is irrigated, so he turns his well into an elk trap. He play-fights with his son, and tells him he has arranged a girl for him, a girl in the city, with ears Sticking  out of long Chestnut hair. he also says How proud he is of his son and how worried he is for his daughter!

FORESHADOWING!

Mary is being Turned against his Father by Fleming, Angry, Ernest hammers Mary's Window shut to keep her in the house. He should have kept a few nails to fix a board onto his shed, because, his Mech gets Stolen.

Talking to Fleming's Father Sam, a Former farmer who now makes more Money hosting Pigeon Races, tells Ernest his son sees being a farmer from Scratch as a mugs Game, and in the end, water, wealth, land, it's all really about Power! He tells his friend and rival that he was heading to the Mountains, claiming the Waterworks have Supply lines there. (We are told early that's not the case. The Watermen Deliver Supplies at a trading Post.)

Ernest sneaks to the mountains to Attack Fleming, only to be ambushed by The water-men. They think Ernest, using the mech that had being Branded with his name and Address, had returned alone to steal more supplies. Caleb and Ernest have a fight, Caleb losing his Switchblade, with his name on it into Ernest's shirt pocket in the tussle. Leaving, Ernest finding his mech, and Flem, Pouting in his sleep. The next Morning Flem, tied up and his Mecha are marched back to the waterworks to settle with Caleb. With no water, but only Vodka to drink. Ernest makes some bad decisions that will spell his end, first he unties Flem, then he reveals he found Caleb's knife on him. Then Flem Starts talking Shit about Mary. ("You only have Mary Around to Cook and Sew. Give her to me and she'll do more than that!") Fleming takes a swing at the drunk but you don't have to see straight to shoot at Point blank Range!

Waking from his Drunk Stuper, The farmer sees a Bloodied and Pissed off Fleming towering over him. Setting up the tied down man as Bottle after Bottle is poured down his throat, Screaming over the screams given by Ernest. Fleming later drives Mary away but Jerome sees a bottle of vodka rations with his father's name on it in his Jacket pocket. Jerome goes to the Waterworks with Supplies as a peace offering, where Caleb, usually Brash and Uncouth, tell Jerome the sad news, there has being an accident involving his Father and his mech

The entire town is shocked to learn of Ernest's death, Now Flem can make his move on Mary! Jerome takes a hammer to destroy the Mech (in a nice touch the air leaving the Pneumatic legs sound like a dog's whimper!), Flem has wormed his way into the Family, and it get's worse. Mary is now Pregnant!

Using Caleb's Flick Knife as Collateral, Fleming Blackmails The Watermen to make them Redirect the Supply through Holt Farm's New Well, As a Gift to the community and a tribute to their Fallen Friend, of Course (!)

Soon, the Fields regrow fresh and green, then blossom into Golden Wheat! Soon Mary marries the Murderer, But his conscience stings every time he sees Knifes and vodka.

But soon Sam Arrives to tell his son, Ernest has had the last laugh: the bank had foreclosed the land for years and now it's profitable, the bank is now interested. So Flem does the unspeakable, he tricks Robbie into stealing the mech to sell and split the money, use said mech as a pram, sell the Freeloader's Baby in lieu of his own to pay off the bank, and Robbie gets shot dead when he realizes it's not the mech that's being sold.

However after the biker gang uses the mech as target practice,  the reason Jerome can destroy the Shadow is that if the Mech gets damaged. It's warranty program will make it return to the address of it's dealership.

The Auctioneer calls to inquire about the Mech, and Jerome starts out to cross state lines, which he can't on his own at age 14.

Luckily he happens across the girl he was promised to, a chicken farmer named Anna, who smuggled him across the border.

So going to the dealership, Jerome learns that the Mech Records EVERYTHING, the murder, the blackmail, The Baby Sale. Jerome is distraught about what he learnt but telling Mary the truth will destroy her. So he just wipes the Mech's memory. He does plan on making Flem stew In his juices. But Fleming Is too slippery for the Honest farmboy, so he plays him at his own game, a Blackmail letter "From Robbie"

So let's finish this!

Paranoid about his power slipping away, Flem has fallen for Jerome's trap, he falls into a pitfall, breaking his legs, with Jerome standing over him. He pleads as Jerome says nothing, he knows dead or alive, In some way he will hurt Mary and the baby and he cries, but once again, Flem can't stop talking, and him calling Jerome "a good boy" repeatedly in a condescending tone, and it causes Jerome to shoot Fleming Dead, and it with that, Jerome returns telling Mary nothing about what he did...A secret he'll keep forever as he erases the Shadow's memory a second time!

THIS FILM IS SUPERB

Forget that this film was shot at a budget, Forget it was Shot in a Desert to save money, Forget Nicolas Hoult is as Physically Imposing as a barking Chihuahua, This Film is Superbly cast and Acted, and Curse my own Artistic Bias for thinking this would be a one-and Done review, just because i found it in a Bargain Bin. This was a good Post Modern Western. and Not all Westerns have to be Horses and Genocide, Good Westerns are like the Good Sci-Fi, They are Human Stories! The Searchers, There will be Blood, True Grit, The Grapes of Wrath, and Now this. Stories of Hardship and Hope and Conniving Villains and The Grit and Urge to Survive. That makes a good western. and overall a good film. This film receives a lot of 3 stars and Above Average ratings but really this film needs more love!

CREDITS

BADLAND: ROAD TO FURY (known as Young Ones in America) was reviewed, Compiled and Edited by Eamonn Bermingham (@RealEnli)

With Media from

Badlands Road to Fury

MST3K

Badland: Road to Fury was Produced by Signature Films

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. All media used belong to there respective owners.

NEXT MONTH ON BOGGERBOXOFFICE!

THE EMOTIONS IN THIS FILM ARE RAW! IT'S RAAAAAAAAWWWWWW! IT'S FUCKING RAW! WHO MANY GORDON RAMSEY MEMES CAN I FIT INTO MY REVIEW OF BRADLEY COOPER'S BURNT?