Arsenal Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		1.5

Arsenal Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 28, 2017

The relationships between brothers, especially if one (or more) of them is involved in criminal enterprises, can make for fascinating films, as last year’s excellent Hell or High Water proved quite easily. Unfortunately, Arsenal is indeed a pretty hellish viewing experience, one that may lead some desperate viewers to be wishing for a little high water to intrude in their home theater environments to put them out of their misery. The film documents both the sibling rivalry and revelry of Mikey (Zachary Legendre as a kid, Johnathan Schaech as an adult) and JP (Kelton DuMont as a kid, Adrian Grenier as an adult), beginning with some typically bipolar exchanges between the two where one minute the older Mikey is slapping the younger JP around, teasing him about crying like a baby (in front of a girl, no less), and the next minute is buying him beloved baseball cards at a video arcade. Already the film’s ultimate thesis of Mikey as a protector of JP is on shaky ground, as evidenced by that slapping around part. But over the next couple of sequences, it becomes clear that Mikey is a virtual parent to JP, though the film only casually alludes to the actual parental units (grandparental, I almost wondered, not that the film seems to care about “details” like this) and any issues they may have. When Mikey returns home one day to find that both of these adults have blown their heads off with shotguns (in yet another plot point studiously avoided for development or indeed even passing explanation), it seems that Mikey in fact is the new sheriff in town, so to speak, though in Arsenal’s haphazard presentational style, the film simply segues forward several decades at this point to show that—well, the brothers’ roles have reversed. Shocking.

Ironically, the film’s opening scenes are among the more evocative that this pretty turgid “thriller” has to offer. Filmed in Biloxi, Mississippi, the film has a kind of fetid, dilapidated ambience that is almost palpable, helped by some kind of odd but evocative color grading that turns exteriors a weird shade of greenish yellow. Once the film matriculates into the “present day”, however, the mood is repeatedly undercut by some almost unbelievably cliché ridden writing that sees the adult JP attempting to rescue his onetime kinda sorta protector.

The scene following the parents’ gruesome deaths (which director Steven C. Smith stages with up close and personal looks at bloody blown apart skulls, just in case you were wondering) documents Mikey’s childhood encounter with local crime boss Eddie King (Nicolas Cage in makeup that has to be seen to be believed, and even then it’s a stretch), who evidently loves to torture people in the area behind the kids’ arcade. It comes as no huge surprise, then, when it turns out the adult Mikey is pretty heavily ensconced with the gonzo Eddie, who in Cage’s hands is unforgettable (though not necessarily in a good way).

There are fascinating issues of loyalty between brothers that were relatively expertly handled by Taylor Sheridan’s screenplay for Hell or High Water, and it’s interesting to contrast them with Jason Mosberg’s much more rote take on things in his screenplay for Arsenal. Mosberg simply sets up JP as the Shining Knight and Mikey as the Scuzzy Ne’er-do-Well, and then further debilitates things by having Eddie decide that JP has cash to spare and Mikey makes for a perfect hostage (whether or not Mikey is involved will be left to those brave enough to actually watch this thing). That then puts JP through his paces as an avenging angel of sorts, when this evidently peace loving family man is almost instantly transformed into a Taken level force of “special skills”.

It’s all patently ridiculous of course, with JP’s best bud, a cop named Sal (John Cusack), attempting to do a little off the cuff undercover work to figure out what’s really going on. Director Steven C. Miller is not exactly a stickler for long shoots, having churned out a rather ungainly amount of cinematic offerings in a relatively short amount of time (Grenier and Schaech evidently met on the set of Miller’s Marauders, my review of which ironically warned me to stay away from any Blu-ray releases featuring Bruce Willis or Nicolas Cage on the cover). That quick and dirty approach is certainly on display here, with all sorts of plot points left unattended to and the entire enterprise kind of feeling smarmy and unsatisfying. It’s probably no shocking denouement to mention that the commentary featuring Smith and Schaech states that the filmmaking process for Smith amounts to “hanging out” with friends. That’s all well and good, of course, but when you get an audience involved, there are other things to consider.

Arsenal Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arsenal is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Shot with a variety of Arri Alexa products and finished at a 2K DI, Arsenal for all its dramatic deficits has some arresting visuals courtesy of DP Brandon Cox, whose interview included on this Blu-ray as a supplement is one of the more interesting things about this release. Cox talks about just kind of jumping into setups without "appropriate" lighting, given the "guerrilla filmmaking" approach Miller favors, and that probably accounts for several dark scenes where shadow detail could arguably be improved. Aside from that, though, the film has some rather unusual but effective color grading at times (as mentioned above in the main body of the review), something that doesn't materially affect detail levels. In normal grading and sufficient lighting conditions, fine detail is admirable, to the point that some stomachs may be churning once a certain torture aspect comes into play in the film's latter going. Because of both the grading and a lot of scenes in a nightclub where purple lighting comes into play, it's hard to describe the palette as "natural" looking, but it pops quite convincingly and adds to the visual allure of the presentation.

Arsenal Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Arsenal's kind of rootsy score offers some good surround activity for this disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, a track which also perks up in the expected action adventure elements. A lot of the film takes place outside, where ambient environmental sounds are also placed convincingly in side and rear channels. Dialogue (such as it is) is also rendered cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.

Arsenal Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary with Director Steven C. Miller and Actor Johnathon Schaech


• Building an Arsenal (1080p; 9:47) is standard issue EPK fare.


• Extended Interviews

  Adrian Grenier - "JP" (1080p; 4:31)

  Johnathon Schaech - "Mikey" (1080p; 5:05)

  Lydia Hull - "Lizzie" (1080p; 4:08)

  Steven C. Miller - Director (1080p; 3:43)

  Brandon Cox - Cinematographer (1080p; 9:13)

• Arsenal Trailer (1080p; 2:05)

Arsenal Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Arsenal simply can't overcome some rote writing, even with a committed cast and a director who stages things well enough. The film boasts excellent technical merits for those interested in a purchase.