Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Carjacked Blu-ray Movie Review

'Carjacked' doesn't jack up formula.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 14, 2011

Just drive.

It doesn't take a degree in rocket science -- never mind film history, scriptwriting, or anything of the sort -- to figure out how a low-end direct-to-video Action/Thriller like Carjacked is going to play out. The movie even telegraphs the psychological transformation the lead character will undergo by film's end, allowing for the expectedly tidy finale that's meant to make the audience feel good but that in reality is just another ho-hum sort of ultra predictable and all-too-bland conclusion. But the movie is otherwise competently put together. It works well enough in its first two dialogue-centric and halfway emotionally and mentally taxing acts but stumbles in its more action-oriented third. Carjacked, then, just sort of goes along for the ride, pun very much intended, towards general cinematic mediocrity. This is in no way novel, groundbreaking, or even memorable cinema, but it works well enough as a ninety minute diversion built on transparency and genre cliché. It's a fine example of the "no harm, no foul" sort of watch-and-forget time killer.

What can I do ya for officer?

Stressed-out and practically broke mother of one Lorraine (Maria Bello) is on the verge of losing her son Chad (Connor Hill) to a hateful ex-husband. She's in therapy, trying to sort out her life, where her mental, emotional, and physical weaknesses are explored in every session. One evening, she spends her last few dollars buying gas and cheap frozen pizza bagels for her son. Unfortunately, she gets back into the car only to find herself at the end of a gun. She's been carjacked by Roy (Stephen Dorff), a desperate but cunning bank robber on his way to pick up the money from a partner before heading down to Mexico. Roy needs the mother and son to remain calm and drive him to his destination, but it won't be easy. Police have set up roadblocks around town, and Lorraine isn't about to take her predicament lying down. Can she muster up the inner courage and physical strength necessary to take down an armed and determined stranger who couldn't care less about her and her son's well being at the end of the day, all the while proving her merits as a competent and deserving mother?

Carjacked is like a tale of two movies. On one hand, it's a rather interesting -- but not too terribly involved -- story of a woman finding an inner strength in the face of fear. On the other, it's a typically bland direct-to-video Action picture, though this element thankfully doesn't dominate the entire movie. The former is defined not only by her rising to the occasion but the intriguing dynamic that forms between herself and her carjacker, sort of a "Stockholm Syndrome" (or Helsinki Syndrome, as in Helsinki, Sweden)-lite element that sees the foes almost melt into a strange kind of off-the-cuff friendship, developed, maybe, as a means of alleviating a difficult situation or, for Roy, calming a nervous mother and bettering his chances of winning her obedience. Of course, whatever little spark of friendship, agreeableness, or other, more cozy elements that normally don't define the hostage taker-hostage relationship are short lived. Carjacked is, until its final act, a game of psychological warfare being played between a devious criminal and a frightened mother, with a young, halfway naive boy serving as the pawn between them. It's this back-and-forth that's the film's best element, made possible by a couple of relatively strong performances.

Maria Bello and Stephen Dorff make the movie watchable. Theirs is a fairly interesting dynamic, and the actors convincingly play the roles with a fair amount of enthusiasm and believability, even as the script forces them into cliché and parades them around a story of great convenience, coincidence, and general unoriginality. This is certainly not some great character study or anything, but the script is surprisingly natural and the performances equally assertive and convincing when the movie is focused more on drama and fear than it is everyday action. For sure, Bello and Dorff give it their all but even their relatively good performances can't save the movie from its predictable finale and dull action-oriented third act where all of the good back-and-forth banter and interpersonal dynamics that defined the first hour of the movie are tossed aside in favor of visually sprucing up the movie so that there's a good explosion or car flip or gunplay to plaster on the poster or show in the preview.

Carjacked Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Carjacked arrives on Blu-ray with a very high quality 1080p Blu-ray transfer. The digital photography shines, yielding fantastic details all throughout the movie. Facial textures are fantastic, revealing every line in Bello's face and every scruffy facial hair on Dorff's. Clothing textures are amazingly intricate and realistic -- check out the scene where Lorraine is purchasing $6 worth of gas early in the movie -- and the various odds and ends inside the car look wonderful, even if most of the action takes place at night. Colors are strong, but much of the movie favors something of a golden tinge. Whether in the darkness, under the fluorescent lights inside a convenience store, or in bright daylight, the palette is very vibrant and consistent. Blacks are fantastic, very deep and dark but not to the point of crush; they're just natural and highly satisfying. The image is a little flat, glossy, and lacking in real texture or character, all to be expected of a digital movie. It also sees light banding across backgrounds throughout the movie, which is the only real technical flaw to be found. This is a high quality presentation from Anchor Bay.

Carjacked Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Carjacked speeds onto Blu-ray with a decent Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's certainly far removed from the upper echelons of lossless excellence, but for a DTV movie with fairly limited action the results are acceptable. Musical clarity and spacing seem ever-so-lacking; music never yields a truly transparent or lifelike sensation, but not to any extreme that's detrimental to the listening experience. Music does come with a fairly satisfying low end support element, not to mention light surround help. Atmospherics, on the other hand, are handled wonderfully. Whether the extremely faint humming of a fluorescent light in a convenience store or the general din of a truck stop diner, the track does a commendable job of placing the listener in the middle of the film's various non-car environments. Action scenes, which include some gunfire, automobile rollovers, fires, and the like, all enjoy a good presence; the listener will never feel totally immersed in the action, but the scenes play out with a generally satisfying level of energy and clarity. Dialogue is balanced and focused up the middle. All told, this is a fairly good soundtrack and more than adequate for a movie of this caliber.

Carjacked Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Carjacked contains only 'Carkacjed:' Behind the Scenes (1080p, 3:19), a piece that amounts to several minutes of raw on-set footage.

Carjacked Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Carjacked is decent little movie. It brings nothing new to its genre -- particularly once it shifts to a worn-out and infinitely predictable third act -- but features a couple of leads who breathe some life into the material give the movie a dynamic, interesting air in its first hour of play. The direction is stable and the production values are fair. It's fairly good for a direct-to-video movie, all things considered, but it's a movie most will soon forget and, if one doesn't get around to watching it, no big deal. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of Carjacked delivers fantastic video, a fair lossless soundtrack, and one supplement. Worth a rental.