The name Pinkerton has been tossed around a few Hollywood westerns throughout the last several decades and yet it’s never fully stuck since it kind of comes and goes without a lot of people really clinging to the term. A Pinkerton was a private security guard and the name was derived from Allan Pinkerton in 1850 after he claimed to have successfully halted an assassination attack on president-elect Abraham Lincoln. As Anthony D’Alessandro of Deadline tells it this story will be a sort of supernatural revenge western flick that will obviously a lot to do with the Pinkerton’s and will set up some kind of tale that will seek to grip the audience in a way that can be described as thrilling and even dramatic if one is going to be real about it. Given the fact that J.J. Abrams already has a good track record when it comes to movies, more or less, this should be an experience that could possibly continue to build his reputation and even offer up something that might entice people to take a look at the movie out of sheer interest. The idea of western revenge stories has been a favorite theme of a lot of people for a number of years, but putting the supernatural element into it is something that can swing either way when it comes to whether it will be a hit or not.
When a lot of people think western and supernatural there are a lot of movies that come to mind and they have a pretty wide range since they’ve gone from the mundane to the over the top movies that tend to use the western ideal as more of a prop than anything while pushing the supernatural angle to the limit and beyond. There are movies such as Jonah Hex, High Plains Drifter, and even Tall Tale, which starred the late Patrick Swayze as Pecos Bill, that have had an element to them that people have noted since it was more than a little obvious that what was going on had something to do with a story line that depended heavily on a supernatural angle that was pushing the main narrative, no matter how obvious it was or not. Thinking of The Pinkerton as the same kind of thing at this point is a little tough since there are almost no details about it that can be revealed since Hollywood has been keeping things close to the chest for a while now thanks to the number of leaks that have come out concerning several movies in the recent past. In a way worrying about these leaks is kind of funny really since no one cares all that much and will still go to see the movie, but giving absolutely nothing is a bit frustrating since it’s hard to hype something that gives next to nothing.
When left to the imagination though there are a lot of different directions that a supernatural western can go and remain entertaining though there are certain boundaries that don’t need to be crossed that have been in the past since Cowboys and Aliens was kind of a hard movie to get into largely simply because it added in technology that would be remarkable in the current era with a time period in which six-shooters and rifles were still the preferred weapons of mass destruction. Supernatural elements in a western make a lot more sense considering how much superstition still existed back in the day. This was when the ghost stories still thrived after all and as a movie it’s more likely to entertain the audience since the two elements blend so well together. It’s not really known when we’ll get to hear more about this movie but it’s easy to think that people will be looking since Abrams is a well-known director and someone that people anticipate seeing great things from since he’s already shown that he has the kind of skill that people value when it comes to putting a movie together. Whether it will be a box office hit or not is kind of irrelevant at this moment thanks to the lack of information and the possibility that the genre could be coming out in a time when the only thing to really save it would be the supernatural angle.
Everything does come in cycles after all and trying to release a movie that’s nothing like what people are into at the given moment is a sure way to either stand out or be seen as less than appealing at the time. It’s happened quite often in the past that a movie will come out and not be as appreciated despite being as impressive as possible. Hopefully the timing will be right for this movie, as the idea of a supernatural western is something that could be great.
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