A Million Ways to Die in the West

A bit of controversial inanity that would have been a nice six-episode sitcom. Great cameos (Marvel with their forced Stan Lee cameos can learn from this), top casting and some cool jokes set in an anti-western world we haven’t seen before, all in a quite long running time. On the other hand, there are a few extremely dementedly embarrassing jokes, and some scenes had such poor direction that they would belong in the bonus material with failed shots. It’s as if Seth MacFarlane didn’t have enough time and didn’t do any reshoots. It’s like the movie was put together in a week. I hesitated with adding the third star for a few days, but I decided to grant it to the film for its good mood. And for Neil Patrick Harris, who is the funniest thing in the movie. MacFarlane, however, fails in the leading role. (07/23/2014)

What should I say about my rating? I probably never saw such an inconsistent movie. On one hand, there was an intelligent and fairly original humor, but on the other hand, there’s toilet humor which isn’t only cringy, it’s also completely purposeless. I was also surprised by the fact that Seth MacFarlane isn’t afraid to promote Neil Patrick Harris and add some How I Met Your Mother Barney Stinson jokes, because that’s exactly who Neil Patrick Harris was playing in this movie. In any case, I liked it, it was the most pleasant thing in the entire movie. But the two stars are my final rating and that’s not about to change – despite the fact that I had a good laugh a few times. But that pales in comparison with the fact that it’s a completely unlevelled comedy that doesn’t even know what it wants to do. (08/24/2014)

The fecal humor, which also has to be shown with everything it encompasses, will destroy me one day. And yet A Million Ways to Die in the West could have been a really good comedy if it had dispensed with these unnecessary things. Seth MacFarlane writes and acts like a very rude and still funny Woody Allen, he has a lot of ideas (maybe too many) and the film, which smells of western atmosphere, moves along briskly. Of the supporting characters, I liked most the fiancés played by the charmingly vulgar Sarah Silverman and the corpse-pale Giovanni Ribisi, Charlize Theron was very good, and Liam Neeson played the bad guy a bit like Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West. Even if you don't want to see the film, at least listen to Joel McNeely's great soundtrack, on which Goldsmith's honest school is really evident. Three and a half. (09/12/2015)

But it's a very strong 3*. The reviews had made me expect a mixture of disgusting and vulgar jokes, which is what I got, but in such a novel and original way that I laughed out loud and often. I find it hilarious that all those filthy MacFarlane sins were coming out of the mouths of so many A-list actors, not to mention how deadly serious or endearingly insane they could look while doing it. But not to spoil the script too much, some of the jokes are really excellent and the overall "promotion" of the Wild West, where everything smells bad and even a visit to the fair is a deadly dangerous affair, also won my warm sympathy. Towards the end, MacFarlane slowly loses his breath, but he still has the backing of both the over-the-top Charlize Theron, who’s as lovely and energetic as ever, and also Liam Neeson, who plays the bad guy with clear gusto. But if there's one thing this film really deserves the audience's attention for, it's the absolutely perfect cameos – for example, the scene after the credits (specifically after "THE END") has never amused me so much. The 4* are hanging in the air, we’ll see next time. 70% (07/10/2014)

This had the potential to be a good comedy, but eighty percent of MacFarlane's jokes just didn't land for me. It's a shame because I genuinely enjoyed the remaining twenty percent (such as the dollar bill, the Indians, many unexpected ways to die, the saloon brawl, etc.). It's disappointing that the creators relied on such overly crude humor when they were clearly capable of much funnier material. One bright spot was Charlize Theron's performance (no need to explain why), but overall, it felt like a missed opportunity. / Lesson learned: Don't be crazy and don't smile for the photographer. (07/02/2022)

I don't know what anyone expected, but this is simply a good comedy. Yes, it's unnecessarily stretched out, but if you liked Seth's humor in his other works, you will probably like it here too. Plus, I just have a weakness for the western setting, which I love. And some of the jokes, especially the modern ones that don't fit the time period, are excellent. Great contrasts. Seth is a jerk, but a jerk that suits me. (07/24/2014)