Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Black Dog Blu-ray Movie Review

"Fun movie!" "That's a big 10-4."

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 12, 2016

Trucking can be a lonely business, long trips away from loved ones and home for a hard life on the road. But at the same time, there's almost something glamorous about it, about the freedom, the escape, the opportunity to see and hear the world away from the bubble of home and experience a different side of the same coin. However one sees it, trucking usually isn't fraught with danger. At least not the kind that involves people trying to kill the driver. Director Kevin Hooks' (Fled, Passenger 57) 1998 film Black Dog tells the tale of a down-on-his-luck trucker with an opportunity to cash in, not knowing the dangers to follow on his bumper. As Hooks' Passenger 57 takes action to the skies, his Black Dog brings it back to the ground for a rather exciting and enjoyable, if not narratively simple, story of big rigs, big explosions, and big danger in one of the few pictures to make the world of long distance trucking the center of a relatively big film.

On the road again.

Jack Crews (Patrick Swayze) used to be one of the best truck drivers in the business. That was before an accident led to the loss of his license and prison time. Now, he's working hard just to make ends meet, to take care of his wife Melanie (Brenda Strong) and his daughter Tracy (Erin Broderick). At work, he's offered the opportunity to drive a rig, deliver an off-the-books load, and collect $10,000 for his work. He refuses, but when he learns that the family's home is facing foreclosure, he acts against his better judgment and takes the job. He rides with an aspiring songwriter named Earl (Randy Travis) and is tailed by Sonny (Gabriel Casseus) and Wes (Brian Vincent), all providing extra cover for, and a few extra eyes on, the load. But they quickly come under fire, not to mention FBI and ATF surveillance. Turns out Crews is hauling a load of illegal weapons, and the men who want them will do anything -- including threaten his family -- to make sure they get them.

At Black Dog's dramatic core is a paint-by-numbers story that's been played out a million times before: a family man on the verge of losing it all risks everything to save all that he loves. Emotional investment is therefore practically zero, because a movie like Black Dog is always risk averse. Audiences know what they're going to get going in or, at least, once the film lays its hand on the table. Yet Swayze manages to draw out just enough legitimacy in the lead part, opening his heart and soul just wide enough to invite the audience in, anyway, and thereby increase the sense of peril and immediacy so that there's enough dramatic undercurrent to raise the stakes in the movie's action scenes. The late leading man finds just the right gear during the film's action scenes, too, pulling off a believable veteran trucker who knows what he's doing behind the wheel. Swayze is the reason movie works as well as it does, shifting up behind the middle-of-the-road pack and pulling into the fast lane that's reserved for the more enjoyable Action movies of the late 1990s.

Black Dog's action scenes are rather impressive, too. The film's technical construction relies on practical effects, resulting in a high yield, tangible, weighty, relatable sense of danger. Trucks push through the world, and oftentimes one another, with plenty of obvious tonnage that ups the ante considerably. Though a bit slower and a whole lot bulkier than fast sports cars, the film's truck chases make for a welcome change of pace from the usual high speed car chases that, no matter how well done, or from what era, rarely feel unique. Black Dog, however, proves honestly engaging, thanks to simple but effective cinematography and smartly choreographed on-road action. Swayze once again commands during the action, doing most of his damage behind the wheel -- and believably so -- but also during a few scenes with boots on the ground where his fist, not his right foot, do the work.

Black Dog Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Black Dog rolls onto Blu-ray with a fair, but flawed, 1080p transfer. Beyond the occasional -- more rare, really -- pop, spot, and speckle is what appears to be mild noise reduction. The image, and faces in particular, appear a bit smoother and more plastic-y than they should. Details don't suffer too terribly much, though. Facial pores and lines are still adequately complex, ditto clothing fabrics and seams. The inside of the truck has plenty on tap, including dusty and worn down buttons, knobs, gauges, gears, and displays. Colors fare well. Red's red shirt pushes a little too hard early on, and the shirt appears a bit overpowering as a result. General color balance, however, between attire, natural greens, different color cars, and the like never appear mishandled. Black levels are fine and flesh tones don't appear to stray too far from normal. The apparent noise reduction isn't anywhere as atrocious as it was on some of Universal's early catalogue releases, but it still appears to be an issue here. Outside of that, the transfer is largely good to go for a midlevel movie plopped onto a nuts-and-bolts catalogue release.

Black Dog Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Black Dog's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack fares a little better than the video. Action scenes are suitably robust, a little crude, rough around the edges, and lacking truly in-depth clarity, but the rawness of truck crashes, twisted metal, and explosions adds a certain charm to the proceedings. Action scenes represent the bulk of surround and subwoofer usage, at least beyond the opening titles where some zips and zooms and whooshes maneuver all through the stage. Music is clear and well spaced along the front. The back channels chime in on support but don't carry a full load. Dialogue is rather clear, but occasionally shallow, lacking even balance even at reference volume.

Black Dog Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All that's included is the Black Dog theatrical trailer (480i, 2:04). No top men is included. The trailer, audio and subtitle options, and scene selections are only available in-film via the pop-up menu.

Black Dog Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Black Dog doesn't reinvent the (18) wheel(er), but it does offer a fresh new take on vehicle-based Action. Swayze is excellent, carrying the movie above both its predictable and stale dramatic current and its heavy duty trucking action scenes. It's a fun movie, very fast paced and lean, a joy to watch and one of the better quick-run time killer Action flicks out there. Universal's Blu-ray is practically featureless, and video and audio aren't pristine, but the movie itself is definitely worth owning. Recommended.