West, making his first foray into westerns, doesn't control the tone. Its somber, bone-dry gruffness crumbles to dust, only to be replaced by adolescent jokiness.

Announces itself as an unabashed B-movie from its pre-credits scene ... and never worries itself about being anything deeper than that.

In a Valley of Violence does not take itself too seriously (a great asset), but it also takes itself just seriously enough that it's not empty snarky parody.

All you need is the right catalyst of motivated vengeance and a good filmmaker guides the tumbleweeds, spurs, bullets, and trigger-happy tempers to take it from there.