6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
Rennie Cray embarks on a bloodthirsty rampage to avenge the death of his wife who was struck down by a serial killer - a man who hunts and kills women using his '72 El Dorado.
Starring: Jim Caviezel, Rhona Mitra, Frankie Faison, Colm Feore, Gordon CurrieThriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It’s easy to see how a film like 2004’s “Highwaymen” made it through the development stage. The screenplay by Craig Mitchell and Hans Bauer offers a serial killer story in a post-“Seven” industry, and one with ghastly details and a mood of dread, dealing with an unusual murderer and his highly specific interest in making victims suffer. It’s also car-based action from director Robert Harmon, who delighted many with his initial take on vehicular mayhem in 1986’s “The Hitcher,” returning to the world of revving engines and evildoing on the open road. The package is promising, but something went wrong in the execution. “Highwaymen” offers a premise that takes some effort to accept, following the mission of one man trying to stop a crazed, mangled individual using his car to slaughter innocents. It’s pure ridiculousness sold with complete seriousness by Harmon, with the feature stuck between absurdity and solemnity, lacking a cast capable of selling the odd tonality of it all. The helmer delivers some car-smashing action and tries to make sense of screwy predators and prey, but the endeavor doesn’t rage hard enough to provide a B-movie ride, stuck with heavy amounts of exposition to deliver and a cartoony antagonist to sell as an actual threat.
The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation is listed as a "New 2023 scan from the interpositive." It's a nice Blu-ray upgrade for fans of the picture, with detail doing reasonably well during the viewing experience, exploring the textures of crunched metal and battered bodies. Costuming is decently fibrous. Interiors deliver on decorative additions, and exteriors capture deep road action and the bigness of junkyard tours. Colors are secure, with a cooler sense of metallic engagement and villain activity. Primaries are appreciable, including clothing choices such as Molly's climatic red dress, and Cray's orange car. Greenery is distinct, along with signage. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is adequately resolved. Source is in good condition.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix leads with the revving of engines and the squealing of tires, with car action prioritized on the track, following the characters as they commence battle. Dialogue exchanges are crisp, handling extremes of behavior and softness of exposition. Scoring supports suspense needs with clear instrumentation and emphasis. Music pushes into the surrounds, joined by atmospherics and sound effects, delivering an agreeably immersive listening event. Low-end also does passably with surges of violence and car crashes.
Harmon does try to make something happen with car stunts, creating smash-em scenarios and various disasters on the road, looking to keep "Highwaymen" intermittently exciting when it isn't stuck trying to explain a basically inexplicable plot. It's the stuff of drive-in cinema, and the production always finds traction when it sticks with purely physical encounters, with Harmon trying to work in some western flavoring as a showdown between Cray and Fargo develops. Violence is welcome, but it's limited to a few set pieces, leaving "Highwaymen" stuck with the burden of detailing specific motivations while trying to deliver pure cinematic power as men-in-cars confront each other. It probably wouldn't work as camp, but the endeavor struggles with gravity, asking viewers to accept some dim ideas and loose characterization on the way to a promised demolition derby.
2014
2014
Collector's Edition
1986
2017
2014
2014
Uncut
2013
2020
1986
2012
1990
2016
2012
1988
2007
2018
2015
Limited Edition to 3000
1973
1981
Vinegar Syndrome Archive
1984