"Badland" is ultimately too beholden to the past to be as energized as it should be.

Justin Lee's indie Western should satisfy genre enthusiasts with a strong cast and an entertaining spin on a familiar story.

With a low-budget, low-energy feel, this Western gets off to a wobbly start, but thanks to several great veteran performers, it soon finds an even, laconic tone that should please fans of the genre.

Despite using plenty of the usual tropes of the genre (silent, but appealing anti-hero, a woman in peril, an underdog fight against evil types, etc.) Badlands stumbles.