American Primeval

Matt Roush says...

Wagon Train was never like this, and Wild West barely describes it. From director Peter Berg and writer Mark L. Smith (The Revenant), a grueling six-part Western follows a woman (the ever-fearless Betty Gilpin) and her son (Preston Mota) on a treacherous journey through the forbidding Utah territory of 1857. She enlists the taciturn Isaac (Taylor Kitsch), raised by Shoshone and scarred by tragedy, as her guide and sometimes protector in a lawless land teeming with outlaws, bounty hunters, hostile Natives, ravenous wolves and — worst of all — murderous Mormon militiamen on a messianic crusade to slaughter anyone they feel threatens their sovereignty. Even John Wayne might have second thoughts about moseying into this hellhole, where anyone with a shred of decency is lucky to make it to the next scene.

What's Worth Watching (Jan 9)