7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 3.9 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A Chicago cop is caught in the middle of a gang war and corruption in his own department.
Starring: Chuck Norris, Henry Silva, Bert Remsen, Mike Genovese, Nathan DavisCrime | 100% |
Action | 18% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.88:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
German: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
All tracks are 48kHz, 24-bit
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In 1985, Chuck Norris was in a peculiar place in his career. Having fought to build his brand name on a history of martial arts training and demonstration, Norris took on Hollywood with the same determination, starring in a series of actioners that transformed him into an icon, but one with questionable taste in screenplays and directors. By the mid-1980s, the star was trapped in a Cannon Films bear trap, churning out pictures such as “Missing in Action” and “Invasion U.S.A.” However, in the midst of this contractual flurry, Norris managed to slip “Code of Silence” into the mix, toplining a gritty, low-wattage police thriller that only relies on Norris’s standard display of kick-happy skills of defense in the final act, allowing the star to, gulp, act a little between displays of disgust. An entertaining ride through the underbelly of Chicago, “Code of Silence” manages to temporarily bring Norris to a realm of reality, sticking a bearded force for justice in the midst of mob warfare and a sickly sea of corrupt cops, gradually shaping his character into a lone wolf instead of just assuming the position before the opening titles have an opportunity to finish.
The AVC encoded (1.88:1 aspect ratio) presentation brings "Code of Silence" to Blu-ray with acceptable, soft-ish results. There's a heavy layer of grain to maintain a filmic look for the feature, which is always managed relatively well, never exploding into distracting pockets of noise. Colors are unexpectedly fresh for a 1985 picture, with Norris's sandy hair keeping its glow, while thug costuming captures compelling primaries, and Chicago nightlight introduces sharp neon glow with hot reds, pinks, and blues. Skintones aren't always at full attention, but human qualities remain. Sunlit encounters bring out the best in the transfer, illuminating screen elements in full, while shadow detail suffers some in low-lit areas, showing murkiness that dilutes the vibrancy of a few shots. Fine detail is passable for this type of gritty cinematography, offering textures on a wild collection of faces, while locations covey their appropriate age and weathered appearance. Print is in decent shape, though debris and flicker are detected.
The 1.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is blunt, forceful track keeping in line with the film's theatrical presentation. The listening experience isn't about dimension, but frontal impact, with an adequate blend of scoring cues and dialogue exchanges. The music sustains personality, preserving instrumentation and a supportive beat, managed accurately to compliment the action and dramatics. Voices are clear enough to understand, capturing differences in accents and tempers, though a few of the more heated interactions tend to mush every character together into one angry jolt. Violence hangs satisfactorily, marked by compelling gunfire and explosions, while fisticuffs deliver pronounced, sweetened wallops and thumps. It's not a terribly crisp event, lacking pinpoint accuracy, but the track retains slightly dulled charms, representing the movie well.
"Code of Silence" works itself up into a more traditional violent tizzy in the final act, unleashing a fed-up Norris on the antagonists. The noise is expected but a touch deflating, especially when earlier sections of the movie are far more grounded in reality, remaining more compelling than a backlit Norris arming himself with a bazooka to underline Eddie's heroism. Predictability aside, "Code of Silence" is an engaging feature, smartly cast (Dennis Farina charms in one of his earliest roles as Eddie's wounded partner), while showing a little more sophistication than the genre typically receives. It's too bad Norris couldn't make a few more of these before the Cannon Films curse claimed his marquee value for good.
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