the storytelling's smart, but the style's tediously reverential and somber; "Badland" is ultimately too beholden to the past to be as energized as it should be
Justin Lee can't make a classic out of "Badland", but he respects the working parts of the genre, delivering a basic viewing experience, and one with occasional charms and bursts of compelling western action
"Badland" is a solidly crafted piece of work that, despite its leisurely pacing, manages to infuse a respectable amount of fresh vigor into cliches and conventions common to shoot-'em-ups set during the post-Civil War era
