Rating summary

Movie		0.5
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		1.5

Barb Wire Blu-ray Movie Review

Ouch!

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 19, 2019

Mill Creek has released the poorly received cult film 'Barb Wire' to Blu-ray. The film was previously released to the high definition format in 2011 by Universal. That disc offered no supplements and featured a disappointing 1080p transfer but did contain a comparatively well received 5.1 lossless soundtrack. I did not review that original release, and I do not own a copy so I cannot make direct comparisons. However, after rereading Ken Brown's 2011 review, there's no reason to believe that this presentation is any different as it shares many of the same qualities referenced in that review (that's also considering that another recent Mill Creek release of an old Universal disc, The Rundown, offered no perceptible differences in its video and audio presentations). For the sake of completeness, however, fresh A/V reviews are included below. This disc is similarly bare-bones; no extras are included.

The year is 2017. The United States has been plunged into a second civil war. The tyrannical “Congressional Directorate” has overthrown the country’s established democratic processes. Every city is under Martial Law, except for Steel Harbor, an isolated island where independence is shrinking, chaos and crime reign, and it is home to a new breed of mercenary. Port Steel is where Barbara "Barb Wire" Kopetski (Pamela Anderson) calls home. The story follows “Barb Wire” as she battles baddies with a Desert Eagle handgun or two while wearing skin-tight and cleavage-revealing leather. In all seriousness, there’s a plot that concerns a fugitive, a bioweapon, and fleeing the country, but really...who cares? It’s Pam Anderson’s really big cleavage and some really big guns and some slimy side characters in a decaying world that are of primary concern here.

For a full film review, please click here.

Barb Wire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Barb Wire's 1080p transfer clearly dates back to an old master prepared for a DVD release. The image appears egregiously processed. Its primary point of visual reference is unpalatable noise reduction that leaves the image appearing artificially smooth (though in the image's defense "smooth" and "artificial" appear to be characteristics the film wants to promote with star Pam Anderson; it's "waxy" as Kenneth Brown called it in his review). While the image bears the fruit of the 1080p resolution, there's no mistaking the scrubbed-away textures that leave the film looking like anything but "film." Still that general clarity is passable, and even scrubbed away of fine detailing there's a fair bit of raw visual interest still on tap for those who care to look, particularly around the dense and dreary dystopian locations seen throughout the film. Edge enhancement is not a persistent problem but it is a semi-regular visual cue, so thickly applied at times that it leaves victims appearing as if trapped within force fields. Maybe they stop gun shots in this future hell on Earth? Colors are very contrast-y and at least well saturated within the picture's intended visual parameters. There's good clarity and demarcation to makeup, while the dull backgrounds that are often made of varying shades of blue-gray-black hold well enough. On the flip side, high impact shades, like big fireballs, appear grossly cartoonish. Skin tones are pasty as a result of both waxy DNR remnants and high contrast pushes. Black crush is problematic as well. This is a typical Universal catalogue release (particularly for the era in which the film was first released to Blu-ray) that Mill Creek has unfortunately ported over in all its glorious mediocrity-to-awfulness.

Barb Wire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Much like it's obvious that Barb Wire's 1080p transfer was prepared once upon a time for a DVD release, so too is this DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack a relic of its time. It's plainly over-engineered. There's little nuance involved, precious little fine detail to one heard. The track favors big explosions, potent depth, excess surround usage, and could be described as "high octane." It's the perfect compliment to the movie's tone, truth be told. The lack of subtlety and the favoring of sonic madness suits the material well. Gunfire is particularly deep and boomy, with every gunshot bludgeoning speakers and assaulting -- or is that insulting? -- the senses. Music is large and takes full advantage of the side and rear speakers at its disposal, blaring out beats in an effort to keep up with the on-screen mayhem. There's some decent environmental upkeep, but even that seems a little overly pronounced for effect. Dialogue is likewise a little boomy but center focused and generally clear and well prioritized. The track is certainly loud and proud of it. It's fun, but it's far from exemplary.

Barb Wire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Barb Wire contains no extras, and neither did Universal's 2011 disc. No DVD or digital copies are included, either, and the release does not appear to ship with a slipcover.

Barb Wire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Barb Wire summarized: Pamela Anderson running around in tight leather, her cleavage spilling out in greatly exposed abundance, all the while wielding oversized and impractical Desert Eagle pistols. What's not to love? How about everything else? The film sinks under the pressures of a nonsensical plot, an awful script, and poor acting. It's a movie obviously made to cater to adolescents who don't meet the ratings age guidelines to watch it in the first place. But the film does have value as a goofy cult favorite, one worth watching for really Bad Movie Night, maybe as the coup de grâce of a marathon of movie shame. The picture was nominated for six Razzies, but walked way only with one for "Worst New Star" (Pamela Anderson). The film did have some stiff competition that year in the form of Striptease, which this reviewer hasn't seen, but it's hard to imagine a movie worse than Barb Wire, discounting no-budget amateur trash productions. Unfortunately for fans or the curious, Mill Creek's Blu-ray does not appear to offer anything different from the Universal disc. No extras and a subpar video transfer plagued by Universal DVD-era-itis make it hard to recommend. The audio track is grossly over engineered but is at least a good compliment to the film's tone. Pass.