Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Border Run Blu-ray Movie Review

Playing with people's lives.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 22, 2013

Here's another example of a movie that gets right to the heart of a current event. Illegal immigration into the United States has been, and will likely continue to be, one of the top hot-button issues at the forefront of the right-left political paradigm, along with gun control, taxes, government spending, and health care. Border Run is an imperfect but at times fascinating fictional retelling of true events along the border and on both sides of it. It's a movie that begins simply enough as a missing person's case but evolves into something significantly more intense, dramatically moving and thematically complex both. The film doesn't spend too much time pushing an agenda; it does so subtly at times, even in its darkest and most unsettling moments. It plays things fairly straight, taking a personal and oftentimes harsh look at the realities -- or at least the film's realities -- of illegal immigration, obviously amped up for dramatic effect but capturing it from several radically different perspectives and through the eyes of people on both sides of the border and with varied views on the legal and illegal plusses and minuses of border crossings.

Crying: a most basic instinct.

An American journalist named Sofie (Sharon Stone) publishes right-leaning articles in which she attempts to expose Conservative politicians who put up a strong front on confronting illegal immigration but who are actually working behind-the-scenes against the causes they publicly champion. When she outs one prominent U.S. Senator and her story is scheduled for the next day's newscast, she excitedly calls her brother Aaron (Billy Zane) with the news. On the other end of the line, however, she hears only a gunshot. She leaves the newsroom behind in search of her brother, crossing into Mexico in what seems like a futile search for answers, not knowing, even, whether he's dead or alive. As Sofie becomes immersed in the search, she also finds herself confronted with the truths and far-reaching dangers of illegal immigration, coming face-to-face with people in search of a better life but also those who would exploit the immigrants and the system for personal gain, no matter the cost in human life or, indeed, their very souls.

Border Run is slow to develop and sort of stilted and jerky in its opening act. Things don't really improve until midway through when broader themes and arcs of significant dramatic value begin to develop. Until then, and particularly in that opening act, the movie sputters along, almost like it's uncertain of itself, where it's going, or what its purpose may be. It's as if it gets ahead of itself, not slowing down to breathe but trying to throw all of the exposition into the film as quickly as possible and trying to set-up the jumble of story arcs and plot twists to come. The acting is fine, generally; Sharon Stone is at her best when the film challenges her to stretch through both the physical and emotional hardships of her quest, both of which develop slowly but intensify exponentially the deeper she digs and the closer she gets to the truth. The performance turns from stiff and robotic at a press conference with the senator she's calling out at the beginning to dynamic and fluid later on as she becomes exposed to the realities of illegal crossings closer the end. The supporting cast is quite good; Giovanna Zacarías is particularly great in one of the film's best parts.

Where the film shows its real potential is in its raw and sometimes ruthless depiction of illegal border crossings not just from a broad legal perspective but by digging into the moral and criminal elements, too. Unfortunately, the former seems underdeveloped compared to the latter, giving the film a more action-oriented style rather than a deeper philosophical perspective which is present but not the focal point. That's a disappointment; the movie aims to create a smart crowd-pleaser of sorts but doesn't really find complete success in either arena, eschewing the former and sometimes jumbling the latter. The film does take audiences on an interesting and largely frightening journey through the fictionalized hazards and realities of illegal border crossings. The film is largely defined by scenes that depict the claustrophobia and fear within a smuggling tanker truck's holding compartment. Border Run creates a real uneasiness in such scenes, finding much dramatic value in the cramped and dark confines, placing the viewing audience in an unbelievably hellish and intense state. The twists and turns in the final act are fine, though they feel a little tacky and tacked-on, to an extent, supporting that crowd-pleasing mentality rather than solidifying the deeper dramatic undercurrents that play out before.

Border Run Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Border Run features a well-defined high definition transfer. Anchor Bay's 2.35:1-framed image does feature light banding across darkened skies at the beginning, aliasing in an aerial city of Phoenix shot, and occasionally imperfect blacks, but otherwise the HD video source image looks quite good. Details are clean and crisp throughout the film; bright daytime scenes in particular reveal complex facial lines and desert terrains. Yet even in darker scenes, in those shots of Aaron's captivity or in the holding compartment of the converted tanker, the transfer manages to capture good, sharp details despite less-than-ideal lighting conditions. Colors are fine, largely even and accurate with only a hint of excess brightness under the hot sun. Flesh tones never drift too far from the norm. All in all, this is a good transfer, nothing spectacular but a solid HD image.

Border Run Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Border Run crosses onto Blu-ray with a solid Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. From the start, listeners will note a wide, natural soundstage. Deep, even bass is used to good effect, hinting at the impending drama, adding critical body to the music, punctuating the musical effect. Music enjoys wide, natural front-end spacing as well as a bit of surround support. Some of the more energetic ambient sound effects come across as a little much; a gaggle of press in one early scene sees shouts and other ambient effects spilling from every speaker. It comes across as a little forced, but still largely entertaining. A bar scene in chapter four offers a more balanced surround stage, and the effect from inside the smuggling container truck places the sound of the vehicle's engine all over the stage. A few gunshots ring out with fair power and presence, but a deep, heavy bass line rattles around with a rather unkempt feel near the end. Dialogue is even accurate, remaining firmly grounded in the center. Spanish dialogue will play with English subtitles, even if subtitles are turned "off."

Border Run Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Border Run contains no extra content.

Border Run Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The packaging for Border Run's prominent featuring of a gun plants the seed that this is something a bit different than it really is. It's not an Action film but rather a sometimes scattered, sometimes terribly frightening, Thriller. The movie does so much well and so much not-so-well. Sharon Stone's performance improves the darker the film goes, but as she progresses the picture tries to turn itself into a twisty-turny crowd pleaser rather than build on the dramatic tension of the illegal crossings. The twists are interesting but feel somehow tacked on. It's an imperfect movie, but certainly not a terrible film, one worth watching but not really worth remembering and certainly not the definitive story of modern illegal immigration; see the fantastic A Better Life for that. Anchor Bay's featureless Blu-ray delivers good video and audio. Rent it.