Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

Battledogs Blu-ray Movie Review

The Asylum goes "big."

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 9, 2013

Battledogs is The Asylum's effort at going big, at trying to approach mainstream success with a movie that's surprisingly large (for the studio) in scale and packed with recognizable names and faces. The special effects are still well below par, and the story is so linear and dragged out to repetition that it really grinds to a halt in places, but the movie is really quite fun at a very fundamental level. It goes to show that even the studio that's put out unmitigated trash like Alien Origin and Age of the Hobbits can create something that's at least entertaining and approaching bigger studio commercial success while still on a relatively tiny budget. Sure, it lags terribly behind the sort of Michael Bay Summer blockbusters it strives to emulate, but the effort is there, the cast is there, and it meshes a couple of popular elements -- werewolves and disaster -- to watchable effect. Longtime Asylum fans will appreciate the added effort, and newcomers won't be too put off by the lower production values, though most of the effects do stand out as rather poor by today's most modest standards.

"This electrical tape is working great!"

Donna Voorhees (Ariana Richards), a regular airline passenger, returns to New York City with a bite on her arm. She falls ill and, while in the airport, transforms into a flesh-devouring werewolf. The massacre begins. Her bite kills or transforms others, and before long, werewolves have bloodied and bled to death dozens of innocents. The military is able to contain the situation and place the werewolves, now reverted to human form, into custody. There, they find a sympathetic military officer (Craig Sheffer) and a doctor (Kate Vernon) who believes she may be on to a cure. Unfortunately, the military -- spearheaded by Lieutenant General Christopher Monning (Dennis Haysbert) and Captain Falcons (Wes Studi) -- leads the push to weaponize the werewolves, believing them to be the most important innovation in modern warfare since the Predator drone. Unfortunately, containment fails and the beasts run wild on New York. Now, President Donald Sheridan (Bill Duke) must choose between two unthinkable options to end the crisis once and for all.

The effort at a bigger scope, higher production values, and a more balanced story is appreciated, but the effort still falls well short of even a casual big studio DTV effort. Battledogs desperately wants to replicate that fast-paced, ultra-intense Hollywood element -- particularly around the time of its finale -- but it never does quite capture that same magic, largely because of the poor special effects and because of a general lack of polish. The film doesn't feel rushed; on the contrary it's a premium title for The Asylum, yet being at the top of that heap still keeps it fairly low to the bottom of the general cinema landscape pile. The big fighter jet flyovers, the car flipping excitement, the shootouts, and all of the action fluff just feels second rate in every scene. Nevertheless, the film proves substantially more engaging than the usual Asylum fare. It builds slightly more well-rounded characters with whom the audience may actually find some emotional attachment; they also prove interesting enough to earn a rooting interest one way or the other. The plot never really tackles its serious issue of "human" rights from any angles other than those necessary to advance the plot, but again, the actual presence of real themes is at least a plus. Battledogs is not much more than a shell, but it's a more fully developed shell than The Asylum has ever before crafted.

The Asylum has also pieced together a rather strong cast that elevates the movie, sometimes quite substantially. Even when the script or the special effects let the movie down, the cast is right there to pick it up. They don't transform the movie into a classic, but those recognizable faces and performances that give a little more effort than the film requires does increase the value. These sorts of films are famous (infamous?) for casting one recognizable name, usually the classic "washed up" actor, and banking on that name on the video box to generate sales. It's no different here, except that there's an expanded roster of familiar Hollywood stars headlining the film rather than the typical one or two. Dennis Haysbert, Bill Duke, Ernie Hudson, Craig Sheffer, and Wes Studi all contribute above-average and sometimes even energized performances. Studi's is the least dynamic, but then again he does the blank stare/stoic thing quite well, and that's exactly what his character demands. Duke earns precious little screen time but impresses, particularly when giving his Michael Bay-like "speech" about making the hard Presidential decision, doing a fine job of relaying the gravity of the situation and the pain of the moment while waxing poetic about the lasting impact the decision will carry with the coming of history.

Battledogs Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Give The Asylum credit: the studio's consistent. While Battledogs may be an exception to the quality of films normally produced, the transfer is right on par with the rest of the recent Blu-ray releases. The HD video photography looks quite splendid, most of the time. Detail often proves most exceptional. Close-ups of military uniforms reveal intricate stitching and crisp seams. Faces appear naturally complex, and general background details remain ever-sharp and well defined even at a distance. There are actually a few overhead New York City shots -- skyscrapers, Central Park -- that look downright gorgeous and surprisingly stable even at some distance. Colors, too, are bold and even. The palette takes on a very natural, pleasing appearance, from bright city park greens to more drab military fatigues. Black levels and flesh tones present no significant areas of concern. The image does sometimes look rather flat and even a touch washed out in a few spots, and not just across problematic skies, which are often trouble areas for Asylum titles. Aside from a slight bit of banding and some shimmering across some of the visual effects, this transfer proves itself to be of high quality throughout.

Battledogs Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Battledogs features the now-tried-and-true Asylum DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This one can be fairly robust, though it comes up lacking right at the very peak of audio perfection. General mayhem is chaotic and well presented into the stage, but there's not that robustness, that fullness, that feel of total immersion in, say, the werewolf airport slaughter at the beginning of the film or a shootout later. Sure, there's hefty bass and sound elements scattered all over the stage, but not quite to the level of total realism that might be found in a better engineered track (and the beneficiary of a bigger budget at that). Helicopters do buzz around the stage to strong, pure directional effect. Gunfire pops with some authority but, again, not with that perfect lifelike reproduction. A few explosions do pack a significant wallop and challenge for entrance into the top-tier of such effects. Music smoothly envelops the stage with solid clarity and dependable presence. Dialogue plays naturally and evenly from the center. For a low budget film, the track does't cut too many corners. A job well done by The Asylum.

Battledogs Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Battledogs contains the typical assortment of short Asylum extras.

• "Making Of" Featurette (HD, 5:18).
• Gag Reel (HD, 1:28).
• Previews: Additional Asylum titles.

Battledogs Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Battledogs probably isn't a big step forward for The Asylum. Though superior to pretty much anything else the studio has released, it's almost a sure thing it'll be but a blip on the radar rather than a signal of a new direction. After all, Sharknado is right around the corner. What are the chances that film will match or top this one? Yeah, the answer is "zero." And that's not saying Battledogs is anything special. It's not, unless one is comparing it only against other Asylum titles. But even for the casual movie fan, this one might prove just good enough to provide a decent enough watch. It is a little gorier than normal, so get ready for some added blood and, ultimately, a good, relaxed time at the bad movies. The Asylum's Blu-ray release of Battledogs features the usual Asylum presentation: solid video and audio and a couple of throwaway supplements. Recommended.