Wow, you have to really search the viewer comments for this picture to find one with anything positive to say about it. As someone who tries to find the silver lining in most things, I didn't think this film was too bad. At least it was somewhat better than another Trace Adkins film I caught on Netflix titled "Stagecoach: The Texas Jack Story". With Adkins' name in the credit list for this picture, I thought he'd have more of a role in it, but he had to settle for the part of a guy who got hung by the main character. It was a nasty way to go.
I guess with their name recognition and celebrity status, Kris Kristofferson and Adkins are listed at the top of the cast credits here, even though Michael Pare did most of the heavy lifting as a man on a mission to find his runaway daughter. That was a tough break for Clay's (Pare) family, losing a young son to a rattlesnake bite, and then having to deal with a daughter's forced descent into prostitution. Still, I couldn't figure why a guy like Ty Stover (Adkins) would trade away a pretty gal like Lily (Brittany Elizabeth Williams) for a fire alarm bell. Well, he got his bell rung by Clay well enough in due time.
Kris Kristofferson had an interesting role as the wise bartender who had that unusual wolf story when Clay first arrived in Wichita. His story was meant to serve as a warning to the revenge seeking Clay, but he wound up thinking better of things to make his way to Dodge City for that final showdown. That was kind of cool.
And what can you say about that unique form of torture old Lavoie (Tom Sizemore) came up with? I'd say more about it but why not catch the picture to check it out for yourself. That, a gal named 'Girl' (Marie Oldenbourg),and a mini-lesson on the Harvey Girls ought to make a viewing worthwhile for any Western fans out there. And you'll also get to find out which wolf won.
Plot summary
In 1880s Kansas, sharpshooter turned rancher, Clay Travis (Michael Parè),goes from happily married father of two to a man on a mission after the tragic death of his son and the disappearance of his daughter. Determined to bring his daughter home safely, and to protect what little family he has left, Clay leaves his quiet ranch and heads to Wichita and then to Dodge City while tracking an evil brothel owner, LaVoie, with the help of an unlikely companion, Billy. Together they set out to destroy LaVoie and his henchman and save Clay's daughter while leaving a trail of gun smoke and dead bodies in their wake.
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"I guess we know which wolf won."
Savage But Entertaining Western Spin on "Taken"
Michael Paré rides the vengeance trail in "Decommissioned" director Timothy Woodward, Jr.'s unsavory but exciting low-budget horse opera "Traded" with Kris Kristofferson as a philosophical bartender. Indeed, this rugged western is an unmistakable rehash of Pierre Morel's "Taken" with Paré playing the Liam Neeson role. Basically, when a rebellious daughter decides to become a Harvey girl and leaves her parents without permission, she encounters unexpected trouble and winds up as a chattel whore in a bordello. Our stalwart hero, who has stored his six-gun for safekeeping in a trunk, straps it back on and heads off to track her down. Despite some sluggish pacing problems and obvious cobbled together sets, Woodward, Jr., has crafted a solid, savage shoot'em up with some interesting victims and villains along the trail. Recently, I watched Ti West's polished but pathetic John Travolta/Ethan Hawke western, and it lacks the charisma that Woodward, Jr.'s conjures up on a bare-bones budget with talent far past their prime. Tom Sizemore and Martin Kove are evil incarnate as a whore house pimp and a dreadful stepfather who abuses his daughter. The Mark Esslinger screenplay puts Paré through a real wringer. He survives the worst that the wicked antagonists can serve up. Mind you, "Traded" is far from original, but it is done with competence and is just as satisfying in the long run as the contemporary "Taken."
Dark and Raw
"Clay Travis" (Michael Pare) is a former gunslinger who has given up his wild ways and settled down to start a farm and raise a family in western Kansas. Then one day his young son is killed by a rattlesnake and things change forever. His wife "Amelia" (Constance Brenneman) becomes severely depressed which causes their 17-year old daughter named "Lily" (Brittany Elizabeth Williams) to eventually run away from home. Wanting to bring her back Clay discovers that she has been kidnapped by a man named "Rig Marlowe" (Joshua LeBar) and subsequently sold to a human trafficker by the name of "Ty Stover" (Trace Adkins). But it doesn't end there and each clue leads to yet another difficult situation involving one violent gunman after the other. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film started off pretty good but eventually became unusually dark and raw for a Western movie. On the other hand, the ending seemed much too convenient which caused the film to seem rather uneven and disjointed. In any case, given these rather noticeable flaws I have rated this film accordingly. Slightly below average.