I have seen black and white photographs of the devastation wrought upon Richmond at the end of the U.S. Civil War. (While some may think Virginians brought all this upon themselves to a certain extent, most people today want to let by-gones be by-gones). So it is understandable that denizens of this city want to crow from the rooftops when they think they finally have a POST-bellum accomplishment to brag about. Which helps to explain WHY a third-rate western such as BORDER TOWN (shot entirely in Virginia) is so desperately being hawked as the Second Coming (if not of the carpenter's Son, at least Robert E. Lee--virtually the same thing).However, I seriously recommend anyone obtaining a DVD of BORDER TOWN to view the making-of feature ("Bienvindos a solo") FIRST, since 19 minutes with it might convince many people NOT to invest another hour and a half viewing the feature BIENVINDOS describes. After all, many will find it indefensible (if not racist) that cast and crew spend so much time bragging that 1)they never set foot near Mexico while filming their "Mexican village" of Solo, 2)they used tons of CGI in a ludicrous effort to turn suburban Richmond into decayed 19th Century mexicana, and 3)ALL of the talent necessary to cast the extremely varied roles the script calls for were easily filled within the city limits of Richmond (such as the catatonic one-time Playboy model who keeps ALL of her clothes ON while portraying a white sex-slave that corrupt southwestern U.S. law enforcement officials have allowed to remain enbrotheled 5 miles south of the American border for about 12 years). Compared to Richmond and CGI lab costs, authentic movie locations in the U.S. southwest or Mexican northwest probably are dirt cheap. But that wouldn't be Virginia, would it? At least famed western novelist Zane Grey, a native of Ohio, was smart enough to move to Arizona after writing a couple of "easterns." If director Chris Allen Williams et al decide to make any more "westerns," hopefully they will spring for some real dust next time.

Man who has been on a bloody five year quest to find his daughter who was kidnapped by human traffickers has at last found his daughter and the man responsible in a small corrupt border town just in Mexico . They know he's coming and he knows they know and what happens when he gets there is the movie. Super action film probably would have been a main stay of the grind-house movie theaters in their heyday. This is a film with good good guys, bad bad guys, funny lines and lots of action. Think of it as a sort of play on Robert Rodriguez's Desperado. I mention this to tell you what its like but not to lessen the film by comparison. This is one of those small scale gems that run the danger of getting lost in the waves of direct to video movies. Where most of the films released that way are not worth your time this one really is. Its one of the few films that I wanted to start again when it ended. It's a super film that action fans need to search out. It's a film that I'm going to be recommending to all my friends who like action films. While it would be easy to say that this is the best film that Maverick Releasing has put out I would add that this is probably one of the best films put out by any of the small releasing companies.(I like Maverick and I've appreciated a large number of their titles which have run the gamut from good to awful, but have on the whole been at least interesting even when they failed.) If you're an action film you really want to see this.

"Border Town" A Law Less Modern Day Mexican Western spins a tale of a deadly town disarmingly affable--and the small-time family man, desperate enough to find his only Daughter. It aims to be a straight-up Mexican Western and deliver the excitement and charisma the genre's fans are starved for. Recognizing that contemporary viewers might be out of touch with the simplicity and strength of the genre--not to mention its code of honor-- This is a surprisingly GREAT movie! Great action climax, the crossfire of personal agendas is almost as frenetic as the copious gun play. Actors performances are sincere and aching and sometimes comedic ( Newcomer Linda Rodriguez who plays Isabella has a Fearless and Provocative performance -- not to be missed ) The greatest part of "Border Town" is that it transcends all boundaries: race, gender, class and region. Having never seen a modern day Law Less Mexican WESTERN film, "Border Town" proves there is a whole genre that is being ignored. Thankfully, "Border Town" has been able to break a door down."Border Town" is a must Watch-

We've seen the story here done a few times and better at that, but for an indie with a low budget it's watchable, even entertaining, if you get past some of the predictability and the rote, many times laughable dialog. To be in a genre with past masters like Sergio Leonne and even newer homage paying directors like Robert Rodriquez, well, the going is tough as it sets the bar almost beyond indie reach (I know I'm going be called for this as Rodriquez did amazing stuff as an indie, but he definitely is more the exception than the rule).It isn't a classic by any stretch, but with better dialog and more cinematic, "film-like" (i.e. not video) visuals it would likely be a stronger contender as the actors and actresses, though unknown, turn in decent characterizations. As you can tell, I find it lacking a bit yet entertaining enough to watch.