Actor Chris Pratt has become a household name thanks to his roles in two immensely popular franchises: Jurassic World, where he played dino-conservationist Owen Grady, and Guardians of the Galaxy, where he portrayed the charismatic, trash-talking hero Star-Lord. However, in 2019, he starred in a Western that flew under the radar, receiving a limited release and bringing in just over 1.5 million worldwide on a budget of 8 million.
How much money a movie makes is not always an indicator of quality, but there is a good reason why so few have heard of this outing from the beloved actor. We will examine the 2019 Western, The Kid, a bit closer to see what critics and fans said about it and whether it is worth revisiting.
The Kid Plot and Cast
Finding his father about to beat his mother to death, a young Rio Cutler ends up shooting him dead. His father’s brother, Grant Cutler, then begins a vicious manhunt to find Rio and his sister Sara, who are now on the run. While hiding out, the two find themselves in the middle of a shootout between the infamous Billy the Kid and Sheriff Pat Garrett.
Rio, originally drawn to the charismatic Billy and his claim that they are cut from a similar past, admires the outlaw and wants his help fighting his uncle, who has now kidnapped Sara. As Rio becomes more desperate, he turns to the sheriff he once mistrusted. The movie occurs in 1879 and depicts an escape in a wild, wild West plagued by crime and ruthless lawmen.
The Kid was directed by Vincent D’Onofrio, whose previous (and only other feature-length film), 2010’s Don’t Go in The Woods, was universally panned. However, as an actor, Vincent D’Onofrio is a seasoned and accomplished performer, best known for his roles in The Cell, Full Metal Jacket, Ed Wood, and as King Pin in the Daredevil series.
Chris Pratt plays Grant Cutler, while Dane DeHaan — best known for his role as Harry Osborne in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 — plays the outlaw Billy the Kid, and Ethan Hawke plays Sheriff Pat Garrett. The movie primarily focuses on the character of Rio and his sister, Sarah. Rio is played by Jake Schur in his only role besides a three-episode appearance in Mayor of Kingstown, and Leila George, who appeared in Mortal Engines previous to The Kid, plays Sara.
What the Critics and Audiences Said About The Kid
The Kid sits at a rather unremarkable 45% critic score and a 46% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie has not fared well on other rating aggregate sites, with only 5.9 on IMDB and 2.8 on Letterboxd. Arielle Bernstein of Robert Ebert.com took umbrage with what she felt was an out-of-date format, stating, “This relegation of female characters to the sidelines is depressing for a film released in 2019, especially because it seems entirely possible to have a film looking at masculinity without reducing women to archetypes.”
Meanwhile, Julian Roman here at MovieWeb felt that the film suffered in various technical elements “A weak script, patchy editing, and uneven performances take the gunpowder out of the bullets. What should be a gritty coming-of-age tale ends up boring and forgettable.” Not all critics came down as hard on the film, with Gary Goldstein of the New York Times callingThe Kid “[An] absorbing, well-structured and superbly acted movie.”
Audience reception was similar when approaching the movie, with many pointing out that, among the plethora of revisionist Westerns, The Kid fell short. Others felt that Ethan Hawke’s character was vastly underutilized and that Dane DeHaan was given a role not entirely suited to his particular skills. Mostly, the audience reaction felt that The Kid did little to shake up the genre and came across as rather uninspired.
However, a small but vocal minority was attracted to the story of a kid trying to navigate the chaos of the Old West, and the movie took an interesting look at Billy the Kid through this new fictional lens. Both fans and critics have valid reasons to feel one way or the other, but does that mean you should still check out The Kid for yourself?
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Should You Watch The Kid?
The Kid
- Release Date
- March 8, 2019
- Runtime
- 100
- Writers
- Andrew Lanham
Whether you should check out The Kid will depend on a few factors. Fans of Westerns will likely find it a rather uninspired affair, yet those who only dabble in the genre will find more to like here. The view of the West from a young child’s perspective makes the journey highly emotional, and the star power, even if not fully utilized, still acts as a draw.
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For those wanting to see a different side of Pratt, playing a deplorable b**tard (to use the era’s slang) is, surprisingly, a welcome mix-up from the more family-friendly Pratt, who has become one of the biggest faces of the MCU. The violence in the movie is also a good middle ground, with it being explosive and brief to help build drama but not overly indulgent.
The movie is not irredeemable, and it will charm some, so whether to give it a shot will largely rest on your experience with Westerns and your interest in seeing Ethan Hawke and Chris Pratt play against each other in a Western setting. Thankfully, you can check out the movie for yourself, as you can stream The Kid on Tubi or rent it on Apple TV, Prime, or YouTube.
