Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Fair Game Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf November 8, 2022

“Fair Game” is a 1986 Australian production that seeks to provide big thrills without the burden of nuanced dramatic engagement. It’s an exploitation film, and simplicity isn’t such a bad idea when it comes to action and suspense, but director Mario Andreacchio and writer Rob George don’t have a lot of story to share with this visual exercise, and the characters they do have are often portrayed cartoonishly, confusing the tone of this endeavor, especially once it starts to reach some dark areas of revenge. “Fair Game” is effective as a cinematic offering of suspense, and the production works hard to deliver a strong sense of style and violent engagement. It isn’t a consistently riveting presentation of rage, but the stretches that do work provide a nice B-movie charge of screen activity.

In a remote region of Australia, Jessica (Cassandra Delaney) runs a wildlife preserve, tending to various animals on her protected land. Destroying the peace are Sunny (Peter Ford), Ringo (David Sandford), and Sparks (Garry Who), with the three poachers picking off kangaroos illegally, putting stress on Jessica. After a dangerous road rage incident with the unhinged men, Jessica is soon turned into prey, with the hunters looking to terrorize her, commencing a game of torment with the clever woman.

Andreacchio pulls from the best for “Fair Game,” using plenty of filmmaking influences to help define this particular battle of the sexes, including visual and stunt elements from the “Mad Max” series, especially showcased during country road antagonism between Jessica and the hunters. Motivations don’t always make sense, but they’re established early, giving “Fair Game” an initial launch as the hostile half-wit hunters decide to pick a fight with an animal lover, with the rest of the run time devoted to this clash of one-upmanship, as Jessica decides to take on the brutes, getting bruised, battered, and exposed as she tries to defend her wild kingdom.

Fair Game Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "Fair Game" offers a nicely film-like viewing experience. Detail is appreciable, exploring vast open spaces and intimate skin particulars on the cast. Dimension is retained throughout as well. Colors are nicely refreshed, with powerful blues. Warmer hues are also interesting, capturing the heat of the area, and primaries are strong on car paint and costuming. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is heavier but film-like, but encoding breaks apart at times, resulting in some blockiness. Source is in good condition, with mild speckling and scratches detected.

Fair Game Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix secures clean dialogue exchanges, managing the animated antics of the villains without slipping into distortion. Scoring is more powerful, with defined synth throughout the listening event, working extra hard to sell suspense. Sound effects are distinct, and atmospherics are appreciable.

Fair Game Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Mario Andreacchio and writer Rob George.

• Interview (15:25, SD) features actress Cassandra Delany, collected during the creation of the 2008 documentary, "Not Quite Hollywood."

• "On Location" (3:50, SD) is a brief look at the production in motion.

• State News Specials (SD) are divided into "Part 1" (58:10), "Part 2" (54:01), and "T.V. Spot" (:39). This is fly-on-the-wall footage from the production of "Fair Game," presenting extensive time on-set with the cast and crew as they set up shots, deal with technical challenges, and carry on with daily business.

• Short Films (SD) collect works from director Mario Andreacchio, including 1981's "Vandalism" (15:10), 1983's "Break-In" (13:40), 1984's "Taken by Storm" (24:50), 1984's "Abduction…Who's Next" (15:16), "Abduction…Who's Next (Censored Version)" (15:12), and 1986's "Under Pressure" (26:27).

• Still Gallery collects poster art and theatrical program pages.

• Storyboard Gallery collects pre-production images and a story overview.

• And a Trailer (1:40, HD) is included.

Fair Game Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's not much more than scenes of aggression and intimidation in "Fair Game," which does just fine exploring hostile activity between the warring sides. The production does slip in some sexual violence and many animals are destroyed during the fight, adding some heavy unpleasantness to a feature that's primarily a "Looney Tunes" episode, complete with cackling, moronic villains. "Fair Game" has its moments of escapism, and it's a relatively easy sit, asking nothing more from viewers than to enjoy a ride of escalation between hostile parties in the middle of the Australian wilderness.