Release: The Guns of Peridido

 

The Guns of Peridido

Genre: Western/Action/Adventure

Director: Michael Bay

Writer: Jacob Jones

Cast: Austin Butler, Joaquin Phoenix, Isabel Merced, Harrison Ford, Paulina Chavez, Corey Stoll

Budget: $80,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $91,479,389

Foreign Box Office: $40,348,095

Total Profit: -$20,982,996

Reaction: On paper, the box office gross for The Guns of Peridido is actually pretty good for a western. However, the budget was pretty high for the genre due to the high salaries of talents like Butler, Phoenix, Ford, and even director Bay - which meant that pretty good was not good enough at the box office this time.

"The Guns of Peridido is a rugged, well-shot western that rides into town with style, but doesn’t always fire on all cylinders. Director Michael Bay reins in his usual bombast, but the results feel uneven as the script does not play to his strengths as a helmer. Austin Butler brings presence to the lead role, but the script gives him little to do - there’s not enough evolution to make his transformation from brooding outsider to symbolic savior feel earned. Joaquin Phoenix chews the scenery with calculated menace, but even his performance feels confined by familiar tropes and by-the-numbers conflict. For all its promise on paper, The Guns of Peridido doesn’t quite maximize the talents of its cast and crew, but there’s enough sincerity and grit here to satisfy genre fans." - Dave Manning, Ridgefield Press

“The Guns of Peridido is an overwrought Western that piles on familiar tropes (mysterious drifter, tyrannical boss, rebellious daughter, wise mentor) without offering much new. Michael Bay’s glossy direction can’t disguise the film’s bloated runtime and repetitive, melodramatic beats. Despite strong efforts from Austin Butler and Joaquin Phoenix, even the emotional high points feel predictable and overplayed. There are glimmers of sincerity in its themes of generational change, but Peridido ultimately mistakes volume for weight.” - Freddie Poulter, TheWrap.com

"The Guns of Peridido is an overcooked, overlong western that thinks it's reinventing the genre but mostly recycles it with extra gunpowder and some bizarre tonal shifts. Austin Butler broods through his paint-by-numbers antihero arc, Joaquin Phoenix channels 'creepy frontier cult leader' with gusto, and the plot throws every dusty cliché into the saddlebag -corrupt sheriffs, doomed romances, outlaw redemption, and somehow even a mechanical waterhorse. Michael Bay directs like he’s trying to make Tombstone into Transformers, and while the film flirts with deeper themes about legacy and control - but that's quickly left by the side of the dusty trail." - Sammy Schwartzman, Happy Time Podcast

Rated PG-13 strong Western violence, some language, brief sexual content, and thematic material.