Apparently, Jason Momoa likes road movies. Having previously written and directed the short film, Brown Bag Diaries: Ridin’ In The Blinds In B Minor in 2010, he is now making his feature-length directorial debut with The Road To Paloma. With Momoa (Game Of Thrones, Conan The Barbarian) also taking the starring role, the first trailer for the dramatic thriller has arrived online.
If you had been hoping for something interesting and fresh from this new cinematic voice, then you might as well move along. For here we have the standard, tired tale of a man seeking revenge for the rape and murder of a woman – this time, his mother. As we have come to expect, he takes the law into his own hands, and becomes a fugitive from the FBI. So far, so tedious.
The problem is, we have seen it all before. A female ‘character’ (either onscreen, or as a memory) is entirely defined by her relationship to a man – whether it be as a mother, wife, daughter, or girlfriend – and she is utterly destroyed in every way possible, by a man, to enrage another man. Those men then fight, in what is supposed to be a great battle of good and evil, but is actually just people mumbling at each other through testosterone-fuelled conflict. Along the way, there is lots of moody camera work, brooding and maybe some deep and meaningful philosophising to tie it all together. Through it all, though, we have our emotionally wounded, sensitive hero – stoically surviving all the horrors done to the women in his life. Isn’t he wonderful?
Starring alongside Momoa is Lisa Bonet (Life On Mars), Sarah Shahi (Person Of Interest), Michael Raymond-James (Once Upon A Time) and Wes Studi (Avatar) – although this is undoubtedly Momoa’s spotlight. Beyond the off-the-shelf plot and over-sized motorcycles, the trailer does hint at some impressive cinematography – taking in at least some of the desolate beauty of the desert setting. The soundtrack sounds like it might be worth a listen, too.
The Road To Paloma hits VOD on July 4, and gets a limited theatrical release on July 11. Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think.
