7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
When an army commando finds his true love is engaged against her will, he boards a New Delhi-bound train in a daring quest to derail the arranged marriage. But when a gang of knife-wielding thieves begin to terrorize innocent passengers on his train, he takes them on in a death-defying kill-spree to save everybody.
Starring: Laksh Lalwani, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh ChhayaForeign | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Hindi: Dolby Atmos
English, English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: Aside from this Amazon exclusive SteelBook release, Lionsgate is also offering Kill 4K in standard packaging.
What does it say about Kill that its title card appears well over half way through the running time? Well, basically that despite attempting
to gussy things up with stylistic conceits like that, most of what's on tap, including that weirdly late credit, has been done in other films, repeatedly
(there
are some interesting online aggregations listing films with late arriving credits sequences, for those who might be interested in such marginalia). If
that suddenly disjunctive, but kind of slyly "meaningful", appearance of the word Kill on screens as the film is at least partway through its
perceived second act is just one example of "been there, seen that", the whole setup of violence in the confines (and of course
occasionally either on top or dangling out of a window) of a speeding train is itself kind of a tired trope at this point. Spectre and
Skyfall both have train fights (and Skyfall in fact began with just such a sequence), but longer memories involving James
Bond may recall a more contained but just as visceral climactic battle in From Russia with Love. Trains being either taken hostage or otherwise afflicted with some kind of impending tragedy
have been featured in everything from Source Code to The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
(and, yes, that one is a subway, but you get the drift). And of course there's the relatively recent Train to Busan, which offered a "different" kind of "terrorist". So, what sets
Kill apart? Probably the sheer overwhelming lunacy of the
violence that erupts after that title card appears, when focal character Amrit Rathod (Lakshya) becomes an avenging angel of sorts, taking out
hordes of bad guys in an attempt to wreak havoc on a group which has taken over a speeding train and itself caused mayhem, including the death
of at least one notable character (in a plot point that won't be overtly spoiled here, but which is probably easy to guess).
Kill is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Arri Alexas were utilized, and the LF Mini offers a 4.5K source capture resolution in this aspect ratio so I'm assuming this had a 4K DI, though as of the writing of this review, the IMDb isn't listing that particular data point. This is a great looking presentation throughout, with perhaps a couple of niggling qualms about shadow detail in some of the most dimly lit sequences (including a couple that kind of ironically get outside of the train for a moment or two). Detail levels are typically excellent throughout, to the point that my hunch is more squeamish types may be hiding their eyes as the blood and guts get more and more explicit. The palette is also generally very vivid, again to the point that some of the gore effects may be disturbing for some. Some of the really nicely graded material, including some "fantasy" or at least "flashback" material pops really well. A couple of CGI flame effects aren't especially convincing.
Kill features an explosive Dolby Atmos track in the original Hindi, with forced English subtitles (even the Audio Setup menu states the subtitles are forced, one of the few times I remember seeing that on a disc menu). The track offers clear engagement of the Atmos speakers at any number of junctures, including as early as a wedding announcement shortly after things get started where guns are fired into the air. But a number of whirlwind sequences, including some scary "outdoor" stuff also offer some overhead placement of ambient environmental effects. Despite the cloistered surroundings of much of the story, there's good use of the side and rear channels in some of the fight scenes in particular. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. While the English and Spanish subtitles are ostensibly optional (there's an "off" choice in the Setup Menu), the English subtitles are forced.
While there are sadly probably too many terrorist attacks to easily keep track of them all, some may recall a thwarted attack on a high speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris in 2015, and as an Oregonian, I'm proud to say one of the three American servicemen who helped subdue the would be killer went to high school and college in and around the quaint town of Roseburg. Kill is itself supposedly based on a real life train robbery experienced by Bhat, but unless news reports were seriously lacking, that robbery didn't result in the kind of mass deaths portrayed in the film. Kill evidently got quite a good reception at TIFF last year, though I haven't seen any authoritative data on how it did at the box office on this side of the pond. One way or the other, I am personally frankly just not a fan of the kind of nonstop violence on tap in the last act of Kill in particular, but for those who do enjoy (?) seeing people getting pummeled, impaled and vivisected, Kill will probably provide more than enough entertainment (?) value. Technical merits are first rate and the supplements very interesting, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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