The Warrant: Breaker’s Law is the follow-up to the 2020 post-Civil War era western The Warrant. This second installment opens in 1872, as the U.S. Army is preparing to withdraw from Absolem’s Hill, Arizona, a small town that has been plagued by outlaws. This has caused concern for Marshal McKosky, who fears that without the army helping to defend and protect the town, the bank will become an easy and popular target for criminals and thieves. And the marshal’s fears prove to be justified—almost immediately after military pulls out, along with many fleeing townsfolk, outlaw Yule Bronson (Dermot Mulroney) and his gang arrive with guns blazing. The Judge (Bruce Boxleitner), his daughter Charlotte (Amy Hargreaves), and a few remaining residents manage to initially fend off the attack, but Yule promises he’ll be back for the gold.
Meanwhile, former Union soldier/Missouri sheriff John Breaker (Neal McDonough, 9-1-1: Lone Star) is also on his way to Absolem’s Hill. Breaker is now a marshal, and he and his deputy/best friend Bugle Bearclaw (Gregory Cruz, Dexter: New Blood) are transporting prisoner Henry “Dead-Eye” Bronson (also Dermot Mulroney) to face trial for numerous crimes. No matter what despicable deeds Dead-Eye has been charged with, he still deserves a proper trial, and so Breaker is determined to not let anything get in the way of delivering the outlaw alive to Marshal McKosky and the judge. And when Breaker discovers that some folks from his past await him in Absolem’s Hill, he’s even more eager to complete his mission. However, Breaker and Bugle soon learn that getting to Absolem’s Hill is the easy part, and that they’ll need to help protect it from a band of outlaws, the leader of which is the twin brother of their prisoner.
I had never heard of the The Warrant franchise before receiving this DVD for review. However, the first film was readily available to stream for free on several different services, so I checked that out before watching the sequel. The first movie is not really necessary viewing in order to fully enjoy this second installment. The first film spends a lot of time flashing back to Breaker and Bugle’s time in the Civil War, and looks at Breaker’s family life, as he and Bugle chase down an outlaw in the present. The sequel primarily follows new characters as Breaker and Bugle are on this mission away from home to deliver a prisoner for trial. While we don’t see any of the family members from the first movie, it does introduce some fun new characters and surprise relationships that were never even alluded to in the first movie. While the original movie had a lot of war battle scenes, this sequel feels more scaled down, but at the same time expanding Breaker’s universe.
The story has some entertaining twists and turns, and the execution has many elements of a classic western—chasing down outlaws, standoffs, shootouts, and bank robberies. Some of the batttles can be a bit cheesy and over-the-top, but in a fun, throwback kind of way. Dust flies as bullets land in anything but their targets, and when they do it, the outlaws slide off their horses—there’s no real blood and gore. Much like the County Line films, The Warrant franchise doesn’t take things too dramatically or seriously&mdah;it’s just a light, fun action/western. There’s also this humorous buddy dynamic between Breaker and Bugle—they’re constantly ribbing one another, and feel like old friends. Neal McDonough feels like he was born to play this role, delivering on Breaker’s always calm, one step ahead attitude, no matter what obstacles come his way. Dermot Mulroney makes a great villain (or villains?)—he really chews the scenery as the two very different outlaw twins (one has an eye patch).
The Warrant: Breaker’s Law arrives only on DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment, but should also available digitally in HD. The SD picture is generally clean and sufficient, but noticeably lacks the extra clarity and sharpness of a Blu-ray, and during some of the action sequences, things get a little blurry or pixelated. That said, any imperfections didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of the film. The disc’s audio track provides clear dialogue and makes nice use of the surround channel to provide ambiance, showcases the film’s fun, tone- and genre-setting score, and puts the viewer into the middle of the action.
The DVD disc comes packed in a standard DVD keepcase with a cardboard slipcover. The disc includes about 4 minutes of behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast, a photo gallery, and some trailers for other Imagicomm releases.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:28:06)
- 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English
Extras:
- More From Imagicomm
Select from trailers for The Warrant (2:37), County Line: All In (1:52), County Line: No Fear (1:59) & Blue Ridge (1:58) - Inside Look (3:38)
The cast talk about the premise of the film and their characters, making a fun classic western, and more. Includes interviews with stars Neal McDonough (“John Breaker”), Dermit Mulroney (“Deadeye/Yule”), Gregory Cruz (“Bugle”), Bruce Boxleitner (“Judge”)& Amy Hargreaves (“Charlotte”). - Photo Gallery
Select from 16 production photos.
Final Thoughts:
The Warrant: Breaker’s Law is a fun follow-up to the original movie, taking Breaker and Bugle to a new location on a new adventure, while also expanding their world with some entertaining new characters and relationships. It feels like a throwback to the classic western, with gunfights, bank robberies and more, plus some entertaining story twists and surprises. The first film is not necessary viewing in order to fully enjoy this sequel—in fact I actually enjoyed this second movie even more than the first. The DVD video presentation is slightly lacking in some of the more fast-paced scenes, but never detracted from my overall enjoyment of the movie itself. The film is definitely worth a look for fans of the franchise, cast, westerns, or of Imagicomm’s other lighter action fare like the County Line films as this has a similar feel, just set in a different time period.
WARRANT: BREAKER’S LAW
$8.49 (as of April 27, 2024 09:43 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
The Warrant
$9.99 (as of April 27, 2024 09:43 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
