Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Falcon Rising Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 28, 2021

It seems pretty evident that screenwriter Y.T. Parazi wanted to revisit Rambo territory with Falcon Rising, since this film, like the Sylvester Stallone franchise, is focused on a veteran with post traumatic stress disorder who nonetheless has been able to maintain his "particular set of skills" (to reference another action franchise which bears more than a passing similarity to at least some aspects of this film). Falcon Rising has the dual (and linked) ambience of being an "origin story" for a hoped for franchise featuring an action paragon, albeit of the wounded psyche variety, and the feeling of being the pilot for a kind of by the numbers television series that might have at least featured some exotic locales. The use of a kind of weirdly international cast helps enliven things, as do some of the supposed Brazilian locations (Puerto Rico evidently stood in for things aside from some establishing shots) and the generally excellent fight choreography, but the fact that Falcon Rising never spawned any kind of follow up film that I've been able to track down may indicate as well as anything that this effort didn't really offer enough of anything new or different to spark a lot of interest.

John Chapman (Michael Jai White) who has been given the nickname Falcon, and who is an ex-Marine still haunted by his war experiences. In what is a rather arresting opening vignette, Falcon is seen not just contemplating suicide, but taking proactive, if somewhat "ambiguous", steps toward it courtesy of a game of Russian Roulette. The robbery of a nearby convenience store that Falcon stumbles into would seem to provide him with his own brand of "assisted suicide" when he accosts the bad guys, but he perhaps unwillingly ends up prevailing against them. His concerned sister Cindy (Laila Ali) checks up on him while she's briefly in town, but she's soon off to Brazil, where she is beset with a brutal beating, something that of course virtually requires Falcon to travel down south to figure out what has happened.

There (which the back cover lists as Sao Paulo, even if the establishing shots clearly show Rio de Janeiro), Falcon teams up with local policeman Thiago (Jimmy Novarro), and Thiago's partner Carlo Baroro (Lateef Crowder), who are already working on the case surrounding Cindy's attack. Also on hand, because this is a film that thrives on unexplained "coincidences", is Brazilian diplomat Manny Ridley (Neal McDonough), who of course has some history with Falcon. Now in an enterprise like this which is firmly shoehorned into a three act model, any lover of films supposedly awash with conspiracies is probably going to guess there's some kind of "character reversal" coming with regard to someone, and I have to say in this regard, Falcon may actually go against presumed casting indications when that particular "reveal" comes around.

What gives Falcon its most distinctive flavor is the frankly kind of interesting combo platter of yakuza working with some indigent types who are ostensibly part of Brazil's favelas (i.e., ghettos). And in fact Favela Productions is listed as one of the production entities during the film's opening credits sequence. Unfortunately this aspect, which evidently has at least some basis in real life, ends up being wasted in a by the numbers film dealing with bad guys and human trafficking, with the entire enterprise leading up to a final scene where Falcon is offered a "permanent position" working for the State Department, in what was an obvious ploy to pave the way for sequels.

Falcon Rising Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Falcon Rising is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of the MVD Marquee Collection, an imprint of MVD Visual, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The closing credits list the Red Epic, and I'm assuming things were finished at a 2K DI. This is another example of why I have long tended to really like the look of Red captures, as it boasts an impressively saturated palette (even when graded kind of oddly at times), and some very commendable fine detail levels, even in less than optimal lighting conditions. A lot of the "Brazilian" material is either graded or lit toward almost orangish yellows, giving things like flesh tones a slightly artificial quality, but also probably emphasizing the ironically sunny environments in which so much bad behavior takes place. Close-ups in particular offer really abundant fine detail on everything from facial features to fabrics on various costumes. The establishing shots of Rio look like they may have been stock photography, and lower res at that, but they're relatively brief.

Falcon Rising Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Falcon Rising features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks. The surround track delivers some considerable energy in the mid and lower ranges, especially in some of the fight scenes, as well as some of the more thump laden source cues. A lot of the film takes place outside, and often in relatively crowded situations, and there's a nice spill of background clamor that engages the side and rear channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Falcon Rising Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes Featurette (HD; 14:22) is a decent EPK with scenes from the movie and interviews with the principal cast and crew.


• Photo Gallery (HD) is authored without a timecode, but does advance automatically, so have the Pause button on your remote handy if you want to linger on any given image.


• Deleted Scenes

  Old Man Walker (HD; 1:43)

  
  

  Complete Water Scene (HD; 00:58)

  
  

  Manny Meets J (HD; 1:55)

  
  

  Carlos Interrogates Hoods (HD; 3:16)

  
  

  Thiago Kills Hoods (HD; 1:46)

  
  Note: The deleted scenes all play with timecode captions.

• Trailers includes:

  Falcon Rising (Theatrical Trailer) (HD; 1:52)

  
  

  Falcon Rising (TV Spot 1) (HD; 00:15)

  
  

  Falcon Rising (TV Spot 2) (HD; 00:30)

  
  

  Falcon Rising (TV Spot 3) (HD; 00:30)

  
  Note: Trailers for other releases from MVD are also included.

Falcon Rising Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Falcon Rising is competently made from a technical standpoint, and Michael Jai White is decent in both the acting and physicality requirements his role demands, but the entire enterprise is kind of rote and "been there, seen that". There are some actually rather interesting plot elements in terms of the interplay between the yakuza and denizens of Brazil's favelas, but it's all in service of a more than tired aggregations of plot points involving police corruption and human trafficking. There's probably enough here to base line satisfy the typical adrenaline junkie, but the fact that this film didn't spawn any obviously hoped for sequels may be a sign for some discerning viewers. Technical merits are solid for those who are considering a purchase.