Rust (2024) review

Even though he's just a kid living in the Wyoming Territory (in 1882), Lucas (Patrick Scott McDermott) has to try to provide for himself and his younger brother Jacob (Easton Malcolm) after both of their parents pass away, but then finds himself in major trouble when he accidentally shoots a man, is placed on trial and sentenced to hang, so his notorious grandfather Harland Rust (Alec Baldwin) appears to help him escape, and the two of them have to evade bounty hunter (and religious freak) "Preacher" Lang (Travis Fimmel) and Sheriff Wood Helm (Josh Hopkins).  In the history of "troubled productions," this tops most of them, and I never thought it would be released: during the filming, Ukrainian cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed by a live round (armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was supposedly "in charge" of making sure the weapons were safe), production was halted and there was an investigation by the authorities.  Following a lot of grim press coverage, lawsuits and reshoots with new DP Bianca Cline, it was actually completed with some cast changes (and dedicated to Halyna), except the finished work is pseudo-philosophical, has an unwarranted sense of self-importance about it and swipes its plot elements from other Westerns (like The Road to Perdition) instead of being a semi-unique take on the genre.  The Gen Z-meets-the Baby Boomer angle (Mr. Baldwin was born in 1958) fails to add meaningful subtext, too: Lucas initially hates Rust but slowly starts to appreciate him once Rust repeatedly saves him from multiple gunmen and then takes his place on the gallows (see how prickly Zoomers can be?).  It does look pretty, so if you're going to give it a pity watch ... that's a nice perk.