A Tough Texan Meanders Across the Pond

Thomas Jane slings guns and a Southern drawl while chasing terrorists across the pond in a new action movie. One Ranger has a rugged Texas lawman, always sporting his cowboy hat and brass belt buckle, showing the hapless Brits how to catch baddies on their own soil. An action-packed opening in the desert leads nowhere as the film never comes close to reaching that high bar again. A scattershot plot with poorly written characters suffers from gaping logic holes. The lack of cohesiveness compounds as a secondary villain takes center stage for no reason whatsoever.

In the Laredo flats, Texas Ranger Alex Tyree (Jane) busts a sleeping Tom (Gregory Zarogaza). He gives the horse and rifle thief two options — he can come peacefully in handcuffs or as a carcass. Alex’s radio squawks an alert. Bank robbers have killed three officers and are heading to the Mexican border.

Dean Jagger as Declan McBride

Lionsgate

Alex spots a dune buggy racing across the sand with deputies in hot pursuit. Declan McBride (Dean Jagger) gets out and shreds the cops with a barrage of bullets. Alex cocks the rifle and disables the buggy from hundreds of yards away. Declan’s accomplices are next to feel the rifle’s steel wrath. Declan makes it to the border, but gets his first taste of a ranger’s long reach.

Related: Exclusive: One Ranger’s Director and Co-Stars Discuss the Modern Cowboy Movie

Alex collects Declan from the Federales. His capture is short-lived. Alex awakens in the hospital after barely surviving a bloody ambush. MI6 Agent Jennifer Smith (Dominique Tipper) gives him Declan’s bio. The rogue IRA terrorist has been stealing for an unknown purpose. British intelligence believes Declan returned to London. Alex is the only person who has seen or interacted with him. She formally requests his help in tracking Declan down. Alex aches to avenge his murdered colleagues. They don’t know the scope of Declan’s deadly plan.

A Tough Texan

Lionsgate

One Ranger portrays the vaunted British security apparatus as inept fools. They’ve been tracking Declan for years, but need a tough Texan to finish the job. The arrogance of the premise is laughable. MI6 Control, Agent Geddes (John Malkovich), warns Alex that he’s just an American observer that can’t use a gun on foreign soil. A rule that’s immediately broken when bullets start to fly. Scenes of Smith and Alex shaking down London informants makes little sense. Why does she need him? What does Alex bring to the equation that helps the search? That question is never answered and makes a mockery of the second act.

Smith and Alex continuously bump into Oleg Jakovenko (Jess Liaudin). Declan’s tattooed and muscled lieutenant pops up like a rabid gopher throughout the film. He and Alex repeatedly brawl mano-a-mano. Who needs guns and a quick resolution when you can pound each other to a pulp? These fight scenes serve as pure filler. It’s obvious the filmmakers didn’t find Declan to be menacing or a serious threat. It’s a safe bet that Oleg’s role was dramatically increased in post-production.

One Ranger’s Promising Start

The final act will leave you befuddled. One Ranger builds to a climactic confrontation then bizarrely undercuts its magnitude at a pivotal moment. This deflates tension like a balloon and had to be another drastic editing decision. Jane and Tipper were fantastic on the brilliant sci-fi series The Expanse. Their reunion here leaves a lot to be desired. One Ranger fizzles after a promising start.

One Ranger is a production of Renegade Entertainment and BondIt Media Capital. It will have a concurrent theatrical and VOD release on May 5th from Lionsgate.

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