6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Johnny Walker is a cowboy and a boxer. He is very shy and a bit of a fool. He is in love with Ruby, but he cannot tell her. He is also a bit old to keep on boxing, but its the only thing he does well.
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Christopher Walken, Debra Feuer, Rubén Blades, Dondré T. WhitfieldSport | 100% |
Drama | 4% |
Romance | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
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 | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Before his career began to take flight, there was a moment in the late 1970s when Mickey Rourke was just beginning to show interest in acting, but he wasn’t sure Hollywood had interest in him. Playing bit roles in big movies such as “1941” and “Heaven’s Gate,” Rourke elected to pour his frustrations into a screenplay loosely based on his own experiences as a boxer, taking years to shape what would become the 1988 feature, “Homeboy.” There’s definitely a lived-in quality to the picture, which deals with desperate people and bruised minds, but Rourke works to achieve something profound through the art of aimlessness, coming up with static drama that fails to do little more than showcase the star’s acting, also saving room for co-star Christopher Walken to do what Christopher Walken usually does.
"Homeboy" is a rather obscure title, and while Shout Factory deserves credit for trying to bring the feature to Blu-ray, the AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is sourced from a very old scan of the movie. The viewing experience is drab, with muted colors all around, with only the most extreme carnival and boxing ring lighting making any noticeable impact, along with pugilist gear. Skintones are flat, and greenery lacks snap. Delineation is prone to solidification. Detail isn't there in full , as age tends to flatten facial particulars, finding some filtering present. Town distances aren't very dimensional. Damage isn't an issue.
Age also flattens the 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix, which doesn't possess the proper authority one might expect from a dramatic endeavor. Dialogue exchanges are mostly protected, but early sequences featuring outdoor elements compete with performances. Scoring is present and louder, offering passable instrumentation. Atmospherics for weather and crowd activity isn't sharply defined, and sound effects are inherently thin and cheap, with boxing punches sounding like facial slaps at times. It's very weird.
"Homeboy" wants to be a crime drama, but there's not enough gas in the tank for that, heading toward a violent climax that's not particularly well- staged by Seresin, who, understandably, never helmed another movie. Performances are mostly dreary save for Walken, who turns on the high beams with his acting, knowing he's the only electric thing in the picture. Rourke endeavors to replicate melodrama from the 1950s with "Homeboy," digging into primal emotions and downtrodden individuals, but he doesn't have enough ideas to support an entire feature, often indulging himself to a point where the film stops, struggling to get back up to speed with uninspired writing and flat direction.
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