The Vietnam veteran kept saying he was “just passing through,” but the more people like Sheriff Wiley tell him to pass through quicker, the more he wants to stick around. He takes it particularly badly from a dirtbag weasel like Clyde. He also takes exception to Clyde’s abusive treatment of Owen Hayes and his daughter Lena. In fact, Hayes is the one who christens Nomada’s nickname, while he works odd jobs in exchange for meals.
Of course, Nomada instinctively stands up to Clyde’s bullying, which leads to war. Fortunately, he can call in a favor with an old comrade for supplies. However, the problem runs deeper than Clyde. His mean old man, “Jermiah,” has forced the entire town into complicity with the family’s narcotics-supplying business.
Hellfire is a lot like a vintage A-Team episode, except the bullets actually hit people—dead. In fact, Jeremiah and Clyde perpetrate some horrendous crimes that might even shock frequent viewers of Florentine’s VOD action movies. Nomada also takes an inhuman degree of punishment, to a degree that stretches credulity. However, the down-and-dirty action sequences will impress with their grittiness.
Apparently, this film is set in 1988, but you wouldn’t know that from looking at it. However, that helps make Nomada’s superhuman resilience fractionally more believable. Yet, such pedantic details hardly matter. Lang and Florentine deliver cathartic payback in spades, which is what this kind of movie is all about. Arguably, the film hits similar emotional notes and narrative beats as the original First Blood (and its 1980 precursor, Ruckus), as well as the Walking Tall franchise. Recommended for fans of unpretentious lone-wolf action movies, Hellfire releases tomorrow (2/17) on VOD.
