Close Range was almost like a western in modern time. The atmosphere is a bit similar to El Gringo (2012), with a slightly more angry and upper-handed Scott Adkins, and less people. After the introduction, most of it takes place on a ranch, surrounded by open plains and desert brush. That first ronin reference was a bit confusing, but the first shots clear the air, and you quickly get into the mood.

It's gritty, and dusty, and both gunfire and fighting choreography feels heavy and Authentic. It's got something a lot of modern movies lack too: time, and tension. It boasts not a lot of actors, and not a large variation of sceneries or people, but they make the small things count, and give the people personality, and human traits like fear. They don't just barge in through doors, guns blazing, making themselves easy targets.

It's good action. Authentic. You can really feel the bullets fly, and everybody knows how to shoot, even if (and particularly because?) they all keep missing each other. The story's a tale of kidnapping, and cartels, and a keychain, and family - but it'll all make easy sense when you see it. Great watch.