6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A merc is hired by the FBI to track down a powerful recluse criminal. A woman is also trying to track him down for her own personal vendetta.
Starring: Sophia Loren, James Coburn, O.J. Simpson, Eli Wallach, Anthony FranciosaThriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The name’s Fanon. Jerry Fanon.
Actor James Coburn is no stranger to the world of superspy franchises, having worked through the lighthearted Derek Flint pictures of the 1960s. 1979’s “Firepower” has a bit of James Bond envy, with “Death Wish” director Michael Winner working to mount his own take on exotic locations, golden women, and roughhouse men attempting to save the world. A brawny, noisy movie, “Firepower” is a reasonable facsimile of a Roger Moore-era 007 adventure, favoring excessive characters, stunt-heavy action, and a few secret agent tricks. However, Winner isn’t entirely out to replicate, adding his own extremes to the effort, laboring to energize a plot that’s basically a basic bounty hunter story into a towering display of excitement. The feature almost gets there, aided by a few violent chases and escapes, but it’s not the most stimulating endeavor, periodically lost in laborious expositional banter that doesn’t widen the scope of the hunt as profoundly as the production imagines.
Looking as fresh as the day it was released, "Firepower" arrives with an encouraging AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation. The viewing experience is sharp and welcoming, exploring a vast array of fine detail, isolating textures on fabrics and faces, while tropical locations are surveyed in full. Even subtle additions of sweat are clearly displayed, adding to tension. Colors show no fade, capturing Loren's golden presence and the various hues of island life, offering blue skies and bold costuming. Skintones are natural. Blacks are mostly secure, losing just a touch of detail during evening sequences, but these are minor moments, finding delineation largely secure. Light debris and faint scratches are present but brief, with the source material in terrific shape, bringing out the original filmic highlights of the picture in full.
Dealing with inherent limitations, the 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't quite as pristine as the visual component. Dialogue exchanges are aggressively dubbed, while natural sound recording tends to echo harshly, losing the potency of performances on occasion. The track does what it can to keep itself on target, but consistency isn't there. Scoring is loud, trying to keep up with tonal changes, and while precise instrumentation is absent, force is felt and mood is established. Hiss is managed quite well. Sound effects, from bombs to gunfire, are identifiable, adding some heaviness to the mix.
"Firepower" offers multiple endings and an island location jump to Curacao that brings in diminutive actor Billy Barty for a brief cameo, also introducing a casino setting so tuxes can be worn and downblouse shots can be achieved with Loren. Winner saves the big guns for the finale, cooking up some frightening stunt work involving horses and helicopters, making sure to leave the audience sufficiently exhausted. While obviously limited in budget, "Firepower" creates an endearing ruckus, playing happily in Bond's shadow as it works out its own franchise dreams with Jerry Fanon, who makes a convincing screen hero in a movie that's eager to launch his special ways with blunt force, sex appeal, and stealth.
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