The Butcher (2009)
A mob enforcer is set up to take the fall for a multi-million dollar heist involving a rival gang boss. Merle (Eric Roberts) is a gambler stuck on a twenty-year losing streak, but his luck is about to change. Surviving a trap that was intended to kill him, Merle makes away with a beautiful woman and a piece of the take. Most men in that position would have been content to simply walk away with their lives, but Merle has been loyal for twenty years. Realizing he's been betrayed, something inside snaps. They used to call him "The Butcher" as a joke, but the laughter turns to screams when Merle returns to deliver the ultimate punchline.
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To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
"The Butcher" gets high marks for a high body count, in other words lots of bang bang, but little else. Eric Roberts is his usual dependable quirky self, and it's nice to see Robert Davi and Geoffrey Lewis getting some work. This is however a very shallow movie, with everything revolving around the ultra violent scenes. The whole film has almost zero meaning. Eric Roberts never changes his sport coat throughout the entire movie, and really the movie never changes either. It is nothing more than just another weak plotted shoot em up, with little or no character development. I say avoid unless you need to see a bunch of seldom used actors in a meaningless movie. - MERK
The Butcher has a decent cast and a promising story line, but fails to deliver due to a crummy script and too unrealistic action scenes.The wording of the plot outline is indicative of the incoherent bombastic dialogue in this film, it makes practically all actors appear wooden and insincere.A lot of the budget was thrown at bloody shootouts, but no attention was paid to making them even a little realistic. In most shootouts the henchmen just stand upright blazing away without seeking cover or even actually trying to hit the protagonist. In another shootout the bad guys insist on shooting above the furniture behind which the hero is hiding. Not even film goons are that stupid.These flaws ruin what otherwise could have been a palatable action film.
Having followed director Jesse V. Johnson's career since 2002's "The Honorable" it's amazing how quickly he has evolved into a top notch action director in such a relatively short period of time. The man has toiled away and paid his dues so it's nice to see his skill is becoming recognized by his peers, allowing him to recruit some great talent. His 2009 film The Butcher slowly builds up momentum towards a brutal action packed finale. It does so skillfully and all the while remained interesting, unlike say for example "The Kingdom" starring Jaime Foxx which had dull dialog and uninteresting characters for three quarters of the film trusting that the final action packed reel would make up for it (as terrific as it was, it did not). The Butcher on the other hand, has barely a fraction of the budget and fires on all cylinders, well scripted, great leads in Eric Roberts and Robert Davi, excellent cast (including several of the director's "stock" actors such as Keith David, Bokeem Woodbine, and even a cameo by the Pitfighter himself Dominiquie Vandenberg), grade A staged action with superb stunt work, one of the best musical scores I've heard in some time, even a beautiful Dodge Charger and eclectic mix of firearms. Recommended!
Jesse Johnson writes and directs THE BUTCHER, a crime drama starring Eric Roberts as Merle Hench nicknamed 'The Butcher' in his younger days as a promising prize fighter. For the last twenty years, he has been a mob enforcer. His boss(Robert Dayl)figures its about time for Merle to slow down a bit, maybe retire from the business. Merle is set up to take the fall for a botched heist worth millions to a rival mob boss. The Butcher's instincts tell him something is very wrong and instead of disappearing, he decides its time to fight back in return for being put in the trap.Roberts seems to play it too cool. His character definitely has faith in himself. His love interest is played by the winsome Irina Bjorklund. In support are: Geoffrey Lewis, Paul Dillon, Jerry Trimble and Michael Ironside. Not a bad choice for a lazy day.