It’s the early 1880s, and 13-year-old Lucas Hollister (Patrick Scott McDermott, Goosebumps) was forced to grow up fast after he was orphaned, losing his mother at a young age to diphtheria, and his father not long afterwards. He tends to the family farm chores and animals, and takes care of his younger brother Jacob. However, it’s getting tougher and tougher to make ends meet and get the food and supplies they need. One day, while out hunting a wolf, Lucas accidentally kills a neighbor with whom he recently had a public spat, and is arrested and sentenced to hang for murder. His late mother’s aunt Evelyn Basset (Frances Fisher) shows up in town to hire a lawyer, but things don’t look promising. So a mysterious man claiming to be the boy’s grandfather, Harland Rust (Alec Baldwin), breaks Lucas out of prison, with plans to take him to Mexico to evade the charges.

Lucas never knew of his grandfather, but reluctantly joins him. Rust is a wanted outlaw, with charges ranging from robbery to murder. He may be a bad man, but feels a sense of duty to protect this boy. U.S. Marshal Wood Helm (Josh Hopkins, Shrinking) has been looking for Rust for years, and assembles a posse to hunt him and the boy down. His group includes a pair of hick brothers, Boone (Devon Werkheiser) and Clete (Rhys Coiro), whose constant arguing and tussling provides some comic relief. Also looking to collect on the $1000 reward is nefarious bounty hunter Fenton ‘Preacher’ Lang (Travis Fimmel, Dune: Prophesy, Vikings).

As they make their way south across some deadly terrain, Rust and Lucas must avoid several others looking to cash in on the bounty on their heads, and be careful to stay out of dangerous Indian territory. While these two started off as strangers, they start to bond along the way, teaching one another a bit about family and life.

Rust is probably best known for its offscreen tragedy when a gun loaded with live ammunition went off on set, leading to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. I can’t say that this wasn’t constantly on my mind while watching the movie as characters often brandished guns (this is the old west after all).

In general, I found the film to be a bit too long, and slowly/unevenly paced. It’s part road trip, part classic good vs. bad western, though the latter gets a bit muddled when it comes to the character of Rust, who has done and continues to do bad things, but is also trying to save his grandson from a horrible fate. The film has some side plots that seem to unnecessarily stretch out the runtime, such as how Wood Helm has his own sick child at home, which has cause a rift in his marriage as he tries to hide his pain and distance himself from the situation. There are other aspects of this character that I found more interesting, such as how he takes a forensics-like approach to his investigations, such as recognizing that the same blade was used in two murders, based on the nature of the cuts. The Preacher storyline also seems a bit drawn out, especially since Rust and Lucas encounter others along the way also looking to cash in on the bounty, who aren’t given a drawn-out storyline.

There are also some scenes that seemed out of place or aren’t really explained, such as one scene where Rust buys a dog (why would you get a dog when you’re on the run?!) and shortly afterwards the dog is gone and we learn they had sold it because they couldn’t care for it—seemingly the only purpose story-wise for getting the dog in the first place was so that it would provide a trail for those looking for them,

At times the film feels more like a sequence of vignettes, as each of these three groups (the marshall, the bounty hunter and the fugitives) arrive at a new location and interact with someone new. That said, the film does ultimately build to a big, exciting shootout by the end, but takes its time in getting there.

The visual look of the film is quite nice, capturing the aesthetic and feel of the old west. Colors are a bit muted, and characters are often clouded in shadow, but this helps to set the tone and mood of the film. The Blu-ray presentation provides a solid level of detail, especially in characters’ clothing and faces. The audio track is quite impressive, especially when there are shootouts involved, with bullets whizzing by, and the echo of the gunfire in the surround channel.

Decal Releasing’s Blu-ray release does not include any bonus material, except for a short clip of behind-the-scenes footage that immediately follows the credits. The director provides narration, talking about returning to finish the movie after the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and how the proceeds from the film are going to her family.

The Blu-ray disc comes packed in a standard HD keepcase. There is no digital copy, but our review copy did include a cardboard slipcover.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:19:52)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.38:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

There is no bonus material included on this release. However, after the credits there is some behind-the-scenes footage and some narration from the director talking about returning to finish the movie after the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and how the proceeds from the film are going to her family.

Final Thoughts:

Rust has a classic western feel, with some interesting characters. However, the runtime feels a bit long due to some inconsistent pacing and unnecessary side stories. The Blu-ray presentation is solid, but includes no bonus material, not even the film’s trailer. That said, it may be worth a look for fans of the genre.