Little Dixie (2023)

Grillo is one of those seasoned and proven performers (like Liam Neeson and Gerald Butler) who can take total control of an action flick with the same ease that Amazon can promise next day delivery. I am a fan, and in fact one of Grillo’s performances is on my all time IMDb list of “best films” (see below). That said, the key to Little Dixie is understanding what films were like in the 70s. In that era, life was simpler. Only a few cable channels, no internet, no streaming, no cancel culture, and the Left and Right were not trying to kill each other. People went to theaters for raw escapism. Plot was not the issue. Action, adventure, movement was what was offered. Don’t knock it. (Check out, for example, Charles Bronson in Hard Times, also on my list). If you want to revisit that genre of film, Little Dixie will be your cup of tea. Understanding this also explains why the mainstream critics are so skewed about this film — it is all a matter of expectations. You get action, violence, a fairly predictable story, a happy ending, and hero who holds the screen. ((Designated “IMDb Top Reviewer.” Please check out my list “167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))