‘Jonah Hex’: The Josh Brolin movie he called “really bad”
American actor Josh Brolin is best known for his role as Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing the part in multiple box-office mega-hits, such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Infinity War. Although the actor is unrecognisable as the supervillain, who he portrays via motion-capture technology and CGI, that hasn’t stopped Brolin’s performance from being dubbed one of the greatest superhero villains of all time.
Critics have widely praised Brolin’s ability to bring depth to such a wicked role, conveying rich layers of emotion despite the special effects that altered his appearance. In a satirical interview with himself for Variety, Brolin wrote, “[Thanos] was a huge undertaking for me. When you have my kind of gravitas, I understand why they would go, ‘That guy could kind of bring some real weight to the purple dude’, but I didn’t get it at first. […] It was a top-notch performance.”
Brolin’s acting career dates back to the 1980s, when he landed his first notable role as a teenager in The Goonies, playing Brandon Walsh. Despite the film’s success, by the time he’d scored another movie job, playing Corey in Thrashin’, he’d lost faith in his acting abilities. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Brolin’s roles were sporadic, and he failed to star in anything particularly memorable.
Yet, an offer to star in the Coen Brothers’ upcoming film, No Country For Old Men, was the job he needed to get his acting career back on track. Alongside Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones, Brolin appeared in the neo-Western, which took home four Academy Awards. Following his performance as Llewelyn Moss, Brolin appeared in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster and Gus Van Sant’s Milk, the latter of which earned him an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actor’.
Since then, Brolin has enjoyed the success that has come with playing Thanos in the MCU, as well as starring in many other hit movies, such as Inherent Vice, Sicario and Dune. However, not every role he has undertaken has proved triumphant. In 2010, he played the titular character in the superhero film Jonah Hex, directed by Jimmy Hayward. The Western movie was based on a character that appeared in multiple DC Comics publications.
Jonah Hex was a critical and commercial failure, grossing a measly $11 million against a budget of $47 million. Criticised for being sloppily assembled, Brolin and co-star Megan Fox were nominated for ‘Worst Screen Couple’ by the Golden Raspberry Awards.
In an issue of Total Film, Brolin admitted that the film “deserved that bashing.” He explained, “We were almost ready to drop [the film] when this kid [Hayward] came up. He was an interesting young guy full of energy and he was obsessed with Jonah Hex. I thought, ‘This is either a really bad decision or a brilliant decision.'”
Brolin also stated, “I think it deserved that bashing for reasons that those critics will never know.” He added, “Really bad… If I’m ever really rich, I’ll do that movie again. Seriously.”
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