“Angel and the Badman” Puts Zachary Levi and Tommy Lee Jones in a John Wayne Western Reborn

Somebody in Hollywood finally remembered that Westerns are supposed to be fun. Angel and the Badman rides into theaters today — an Angel Studios remake of the 1947 John Wayne classic, directed by Julio Quintana, starring Zachary Levi and Tommy Lee Jones, and rated PG-13 for the whole family to argue about on the drive home. It’s a redemption story in boots, and it might be the most perfectly timed release of the fall.

The setup is pure classic Western, and ComingSoon’s coverage lays it out cleanly: Quirt Evans, a feared gunman, is running on fumes after taking a bullet — in the 1947 original and this retelling alike, he staggers onto a ranch with a bullet in his back and every reason to expect the worst. Instead, Penny — played here by Meg Fraser — the rancher’s daughter, offers him something he’s never had: kindness, and a genuine chance at a different life. But the past doesn’t stay buried. A marshal is closing in, a dangerous outlaw gang is threatening the ranch, and Quirt has to decide whether the man he was is going to be the man he stays.

The cast around that spine is doing a lot of quiet heavy lifting. Tommy Lee Jones plays the Marshal — and if you need a reason to buy a ticket, start there. Jones has been one of the great screen presences in the genre for decades, and putting him in the lawman’s boots opposite Levi’s outlaw is the kind of casting that sells itself. Neal McDonough plays Laredo, the chief antagonist; ComingSoon identifies him as the film’s main threat, and McDonough has called the production “one of the most enjoyable experiences” he and his wife and producing partner have had, per MovieWeb — high praise from a guy who’s done everything from Band of Brothers to supervillain duty. Jean Louisa Kelly plays Irene Worth, with Barrett Ellis Luca as Johnny Worth rounding out the ranch family.

Behind the camera, Quintana is a logical fit. MovieWeb notes his earlier films Blue Miracle and The Long Game were both crowd-pleasing dramas with a family-friendly lean — exactly the register Angel Studios has built its theatrical identity around, from faith-adjacent values-driven material to the surprise 2023 hit Sound of Freedom. The screenplay is credited to Jaime Hernandez, Kevin M. Townsend and Christopher Tuffin, with story by James Edward Grant (per Movie Vine), cinematography by Alex Quintana and music by Hanan Townshend. The film runs 1 hour and 45 minutes — tight, the way Westerns used to be.

Levi himself has been open about why this story matters to him. Speaking to The Christian Post, he called redemption “the most important story” Hollywood can tell, arguing that audiences are hungry for entertainment that offers more than violence and cynicism — a story about grace covering even the worst sinner. You can agree or disagree with the theology; you can’t argue with the instinct. The Western has always been, at its best, a genre about whether a person can change. Quirt Evans is that question in a hat.

And the timing is genuinely interesting, because the Western is having a moment again. MovieWeb’s coverage makes the case plainly: the genre has had a strong run in recent years, with Horizon and Taylor Sheridan’s sprawling TV empire both proving there’s still broad audience demand for stories about the frontier. What’s been missing is the mid-budget theatrical Western — the kind of movie your dad drags you to on a Saturday and you end up loving. That’s the lane Angel and the Badman is riding into, and PG-13 (for some violence, language and thematic material, per the Christian Post) means the whole family can come along.

The John Wayne original looms over all of this, of course — and it should. The 1947 film was one of Wayne’s early signature Westerns, the template for the reformed-gunman story that the genre has been riffing on ever since. Remaking it is a swing: you don’t touch The Duke’s material unless you think you’ve got something to say. Levi following in Wayne’s footsteps as Quirt Evans is the headline gamble, and Jones as the Marshal is the insurance policy. If the chemistry works, this is the kind of movie that plays for months in middle America and finds a second life every time it hits streaming.

For Las Vegas moviegoers, the pitch writes itself: a Friday night Western with real stars, a real story, and a runtime that gets you home before midnight. Check showtimes at your local theater — and if you’re planning the full weekend, our weekend streaming guide has what’s new at home, while the what-to-watch roundup covers everything else hitting screens. Jones completists should also catch up on Tommy Lee Jones’s return for Lowdown season 2 — the man is having a year.