A small town is being terrorized by a gang of thugs who use extortion and violence to buy up all the businesses. The only person who tries to stand up to the gang is the sheriff, but then he meets a violent end. His son (Kevin Sorbo), who, one gathers from vague references, has military training, shucks his apathy, dons his father’s badge, and sets out to clean up the town.
The cover art is hilariously misleading, in that it shows what appears to be Sorbo leading his posse for the titular payback. But those folks behind him are actually the villains. Whatever. At any rate, this follow-up to the remake starring The Rock is mildly entertaining, but no more. Sorbo has little of Dwayne Johnson’s screen presence or sense of humour, and the storyline is utterly by-the-numbers. So routine is it, that the lack of action set-pieces really makes itself felt. On the upside, AJ Buckley is so completely unpleasant as the primary villain that he kicks the film to a semblance of life.
Audio
I hope you like C&W music and ersatz ZZ Top riffs, because there’s plenty of both comin’ at ya on this track. The music is certainly given a fine mix, though, whatever one (meaning I) might feel about it. The occasional explosion is very enveloping, with nice bass. Nice placement, too, of a horse’s hoof beats. Otherwise, the environmental effects are rather limited, and the dialogue distorts a couple of times.
Video
The palette is a rather striking earth-tone affair, adding that Nostalgic Hometown Glow, I guess. The contrasts are good, as are the blacks, and the image is sharp enough. Some edge enhancement is noticeable, however, and the same goes for the grain. Nothing too awful, but it is enough to sometimes draw attention to itself.
Special Features
Six deleted scenes are put together in a montage, and there are some trailers. That’s it.
Closing Thoughts
The film passes the time, but only just. Re-watching its predecessor would be more advisable.
