Agent Game Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

Agent Game Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 13, 2022

Is it possible to tell how a studio feels about one of its releases based on how it markets and/or packages its home video versions? This is the first release I can think of in a very long time that offers its Blu-ray disc in a package which touts the DVD first and which comes in DVD sized packaging. That may or may not indicate Lionsgate knew it had a veritable straight to video clunker on its hands, but given that fact, it may then be somewhat surprising that the packaging features a slipcover and the disc actually has a couple of supplements on it, which is not always the case with these lower tier efforts.

The game may be afoot here, but the problem is screenwriters Tyler W. Konney and Mike Langer don't seem to want to let the viewers in on the veritable "rules", with the result being a near incoherent story for at least the opening act, one which is repeatedly belabored with informational subtitles not only alerting folks about locations, but also timelines. The result is that some may feel they'll need a whiteboard to properly graph exactly where and when events are taking place. Suffice it to say things begin with a literal bang when an obviously villainous sort played by Mel Gibson starts firing his gun on a downtown street at an unseen assailant (?), and then informs someone on the telephone that there is "a problem". That sets up the supposed intrigue, which actually attempts to get into issues like rendition that might have been approached with a more sober, less exploitative, slant if the filmmakers really wanted to deliver a message.

Several different story threads which are supposedly woven together later are introduced in the film's kind of messy opening, but the upshot is that a noble character named Harris (Dermot Mulroney) finds himself unfairly accused for having killed a detainee, which then sets him at odds with both "inside" CIA operatives and threats from without. A gaggle of other characters maraud in and out of the narrative, which is deliberately fractured in order to ostensibly create suspense, when in reality it's confusion that's engendered more often than not.

Things eventually are somewhat clarified when the story finally tips over into the inevitable showdown, but the "big twist" toward the end of the film is going to be seen by virtually anyone with knowledge of how these paint by numbers offerings typically play out. Suffice it to say, in a black and white world like the one in Agent Game, shades of gray are discarded and the good guys seemingly triumph, which I guess is better than the alternative.

Agent Game Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Agent Game is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This is a surprisingly stylish looking film at times, and while I haven't been able to track down any authoritative technical data, cinematographer David Kruta executes a nicely evocative digital capture that I assume was finished at a 2K DI. One of the story elements involves a harrowing plane journey and those sequences are drenched in almost cobalt blues, while other moments have a kind of auburn yellow quality, and one notable sequence toward the end of the film has an almost spooky teal misty quality. Despite these radical changes in the overall color scheme of certain framings, detail levels tend to be at least above average, and in some of the more "normal" lighting conditions, they're really quite excellent, to the point that some curmudgeons may be saying, "Wow, Mel Gibson looks old!" There are some passing deficits in shadow definition in some of the many dark moments, but I noticed no real compression anomalies.

Agent Game Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Agent Game has a relatively robust DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that offers nice punches of activities during some of the action elements. Things like gunfire and fighting have the requisite force to sound effects, and both effects and score can punctuate the side and rear channels noticeably. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Agent Game Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Grant S. Johnson


• Subterfuge: Playing the Agent Game (HD; 23:36) is an above average EPK with some decent interviews and behind the scenes footage.

Additionally, both DVD and digital copies are included, and packaging features a slipcover.

Agent Game Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Agent Game wants to be one of those tricky items that presents a baffling array of characters and situations before magically weaving them all together, and in that regard, it at least gets the first part of that strategy right. Technical merits are generally solid for anyone considering making a purchase.