Bullet Points: Taken from Rio Bravo

For several action legends, everything Old West is new again. The trend started with 2023’s Gunfight at Rio Bravo. It will continue with the upcoming Black Creek, but first it’s the follow-up to Gunfight at Rio Bravo and the subject of this edition of Bullet Points, 2024’s Taken from Rio Bravo…

• Cold Open: The movie opens in a saloon… there’s a piano player tickling the ivories, people are playing cards, drinking some whiskey and having themselves a good time. The good times aren’t long for this world however, as a couple of outlaws who were sitting off on their own decide to rob the place. The bandits hold out bags and demand everyone to put their valuables inside and you better believe they aren’t going to forget the till… but they really should have forgot the guy minding his business, reading the newspaper and waiting for the train. Because that guy was none other than the physically imposing Ivan Turchin (Alexander Nevsky). Ivan takes the guys out… literally, where he then has to deal with the rest of their gang who were waiting outside, which is no problem because Ivan just shoots them and cue the opening credits.
• Taken: The title of the movie becomes quite obvious when a new to town Margaret (Cynthia Rothrock) visits her cousins, Jenny and Valerie. We are treated to some girl talk… including Jenny’s romance and marriage possibilities with Sheriff Vernon. After their dinner, Margaret is cleaning up when she hears something outside… just then two guys storm in, Margaret fights them off for a few minutes before she ends up stabbed and Jenny and Valerie end up taken! The next morning Sheriff Vernon (Joe Cornet) and Ivan show up to investigate the situation… the wounded Margaret tells them a posse was responsible. It doesn’t take long for Vernon and Ivan to decide they are going to hunt down this posse and rescue Jenny and Valerie.

• Good News, Bad News: As you might suspect, Ivan and Vernon encounter a variety of challenges along the way… the rough terrain, the hot sun, and of course some bad hombres. But it’s not all bad… the two man team of Ivan and Vernon becomes a three man team, when an old friend of Ivan makes his presence known, Angel (Don “The Dragon” Wilson). Angel is a valuable asset to the mission. When Angel hears what happened to Jenny and Valerie, he knows exactly who is responsible… Jack Watuku and his posse. Watuku was responsible for raping and killing Angel’s wife and kidnapping Angel’s daughters. Angel also knows where Watuku conduct business, suddenly the rescue mission becomes much more clear.
• Most Wanted: Let’s talk about Jack Watuku (James Chalke), he is a nasty individual and he’s also creepy AF. I wanted Ivan, Vernon and Angel to take Watuku out just so I wouldn’t have to look at his haunting visage any longer. Watuku’s skin slaver posse is filled with undesirable individuals, who take pleasure in abusing and intimidating the women they plan on selling in Mexico…. but I can’t talk about the villains in the movie and not mention the fact that we have a huge return from Gunfight at Rio Bravo… Mattias Hues’ Crawley is back, which means an Ivan vs. Crawley rematch and I was all about it!

If you were a fan of Gunfight at Rio Bravo, you’ll definitely enjoy Taken from Rio Bravo... I may have liked the follow up even more. There’s plenty of gun slinging and fisticuffs packed into the 80 minute runtime.

Taken from Rio Bravo proved once again that Ivan Turchin is Alexander Nevsky’s best role. Ivan is a likable hero and he has plenty of unlikable villains to play off of. As an old school action fan, I always appreciate getting to see legends like Cynthia Rothrock, Don “The Dragon” Wilson and Matthias Hues have the opportunity to contribute to the action genre.

I have the opportunity to present some Bonus Bullet Points and that’s just what I am going to do…

• But Wait There’s More: The end of the movie teased a return for Ivan in Last Heroes of Rio Bravo. And I have to wonder if we will get more of Ellen, the female bounty hunter (played by Tatiana Neva) in that one.
• Bastard Count: I counted five “bastards” in Taken from Rio Bravo. Feel free to count along when you watch and let me know if I missed any.
• Familiar Face: Playing a Comanchero who gets into a brutal fight with Ivan early on in the rescue mission was none other than Art Camacho of To Be the Best and Firepower fame. Camacho also served as the movie’s fight choreographer.