Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

Army of One Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 15, 2016

There weren't too many Americans who didn't want Usama Bin Laden dead or captured, a few before 9/11 and certainly after 9/11, but few wanted to get him more than Gary Faulkner (Nicolas Cage), a Coloradan who took to the seas, then the skies, to travel to Pakistan to do the job the United States military wasn't getting done. Army of One tells his rather comedic, and in some ways sad, true tale of patriotism, idealism, naïveté, and a whole bunch of other things in there, too. An interesting film more for the relaying of the true story rather than anything the movie does especially well with the content, Army of One makes for an interesting watch that's more likely to elicit a response around the character rather than his action, as brave, foolhardy, or somewhere in between it may have been.

Gary Faulkner (Nicolas Cage) has had a long-standing relationship with "God" (Russell Brand), which Gary may just be imagining in his head. "God" has long told him to carry a stick and never feel fear in his life. He's an eccentric man, always the talker, and he's just entered into a romantic relationship with an old friend, Marci (Wendi McLendon-Covey). But he's about to be pulled away when "God" commands him to travel to Pakistan, track down Usama Bin Laden, and capture him. His plan is to sail a boat from San Diego to Pakistan, but that only gets him as far as Mexico. Plan B: take a hang glider from Israel to Pakistan. No matter how he gets there, Gary is determined to do what he must to fulfill "God's" wish for him to nab the most wanted man in the world, singlehanded, all the while with bad kidneys and a demeanor that will have him sticking out like a sore thumb wherever he goes.

Army of One may be the story of a man who sets out to nab the most infamous outlaw on the planet, but it's not so much about his journey as it is about him. The film is more comedic in tone rather than some Rambo/Bond hybrid about stealth, infiltration, and what not. That's not what happened. It's more about the individual behind the cockamamie plan, the eccentricities that drive him, and the ideas that motivate him to undertake his mission, which he believes is directed by God. It's an exploration of a mind that's chaotic but focused at the same time, a mind that's besieged by an idea and whatever synapse fires to the body to carry it on through with at least getting there, though more than likely not accomplishing the task. It's an interesting take on human determination, more so its foolhardy side than its serious side, but it's nothing if not a somewhat interesting examination of one man's psyche and noble drive to do something good in the face of ridiculous odds not even of success, but just getting started.

The movie doesn't always work. It has more than its share of levity, but it's a discomforting funny bone inside of it, one in which the audience never knows whether to cheer on Gary, pity him, or just sit back in awe at the human spectacle playing out in front of it. The movie doesn't seem to want the audience to pick, either. While its cadence is "funny," Gary is not exactly the sort of character whose bumbling antics should, in real life, elicit such a response. He's not to be pitied, either. Gary is, well, Gary, and how the movie paints him, and how the audience sees him, really depends on one's ability to find the humor in a person who's clearly off balance, good willed but certainly someone who has dove off the deep end at the same time. Nic Cage is very good in the part, capturing a particular look and, more important, cadence that helps carry the movie and build the character into a real human being, one made more of eccentricity than anything else. Still, Cage makes him likable enough, but again it's hard to figure out if Gary should be cheered, laughed at, or studied with disinterest and absent emotion. Quite the conundrum, and the movie doesn't quite work as a result of its seeming lack of focus on how it presents the character.

Army of One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Army of One's 1080p transfer lacks the polish and realism of superior digitally shot productions presented on Blu-ray. The source material leaves the image appearing texturally flat and bland, devoid of seriously punchy colors, and lacking the razor-sharpness of high end digital shoots. It's not uncommon to spot smeary corners around the frame even in relatively close-up elements around the foreground. Detail rarely impresses beyond the broadest spectrum, failing to bring out the finer points of facial hair and textures, clothes, terrain, or odds and ends around various interior locations. The color palette appears slightly desaturated, with even the would-be splashy red and blue on the hang glider struggling to put forward the sort of richly vibrant hues one would expect. Flesh tones favor a touch of pastiness while black levels, seen, for example, during a couple of nighttime exteriors in Pakistan, hold fairly deep. Source noise is sporadic and light, and no major encode issues are apparent. The only drawback here, really, is the photographic style that doesn't translate to a pristine image.

Army of One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Army of One invades Blu-ray with a no-frills, largely straightforward, and unmemorable DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Much like the video counterpart, any shortcomings or disappointments seem more from the source rather than the transfer-to-Blu-ray process. The presentation is largely front-heavy, with music enjoying adequate width out to the sides, playing with fair clarity. Neither surround nor low end accompaniment are serious helpers, but do chime in on occasion for subtle support. A few discrete effects, particularly near the beginning, represent the near-peak for the track. TV and radio chatter emanate from various positions around the stage, as does the voice of "God." The transitions form speaker to speaker are seamless; the track uses both discrete and one-off imaging in these moments to good effect. A cold Pakistani wind gusts about the stage moments later. It's not until midway through that the track finds anything else of substantive value when the Muslim call to prayer springs to life and awakens Gary with its sudden, piercing shriek. Otherwise, the track is largely straightforward. Dialogue drives most of the film, and it's well prioritized and adequately clear with a natural front-center positioning.

Army of One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Army of One contains on supplement. Making 'Army of One' (1080p, 7:07) takes a quick look at the character and the real person behind him, the movie's cadence, story threads, Cage's transformation for the role, support performances in the film, Larry Charles' direction, shooting locations, and more. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV digital copy are included with purchase.

Army of One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Army of One tells an admittedly intriguing story of one of the most unique men ever plucked from the annals of real life and repurposed for the screen. Cage is good in the lead but the movie never quite sorts out how it wants to portray the character, and the audience may never quite decide how to respond to him, either. It's an interesting film, one that's worth watching if only as a springboard for further study into Gary Faulkner's life and adventures. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray features decent video and audio that are more a product of a lower end production than anything else. One extras is included. Rent it.