Pursuit Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		1.5

Pursuit Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 27, 2022

Has the torch been passed to a new generation of once promising actors consigned to fare that might be charitably described as perhaps not even at direct to video levels of competency? In terms of Lionsgate fare of this general ilk, I've joked for years that if a cover features an overly airbrushed version of Bruce Willis' visage, you pretty know what you're in for from the get go, and it typically isn't anything to write home about. Here, not one but two ostensible "marquee stars" are prominently featured on the cover in the forms of John Cusack and Emile Hirsch, but Cusack at least is in "paycheck cameo" mode in a way, and even Hirsch is shunted off to the sidelines repeatedly. The film is almost preposterously stuffed with various relationships and backstories, with a cop named Mike Breslin (Jake Manley) tasked with bringing a notorious hacker named Rick Calloway (Emile Hirsch) to justice. However, both Breslin and Calloway are dealing with various tragedies or at least potential tragedies involving their spouses, and just for good measure, Calloway's thug father John (John Cusack) also drifts in and out events.

This is the kind of film where "style" seems to be based on a John Wick sensibility in terms of both palette choices (lots of reds and purples, although a relative lack of teals) and a penchant toward pretty graphic violence, though Pursuit has none of the narrative drive nor any of the action savoir faire of the Keanu Reeves franchise. Here, Calloway is introduced in some hacking activity, though the fact that his wife may be in peril perhaps makes him more of a sympathetic figure than would otherwise be the case.

The upshot of whatever story is being haphazardly told is that Calloway goes on a hunt for his wife's kidnappers, which brings him to a hotel where a sting being undertaken by Breslin is in process. That leads to the first of several patently absurd shootouts, where it seems that Calloway is almost genetically incapable of hitting any targets, at least those wearing a police badge. The result is that a number of drug dealers are dead, Calloway has a perhaps meaningful clue as to who has his wife (and son), and Manley is able to take Calloway into custody, though even Manley seems confused as to who or what Calloway may be.

The one surviving drug lord who escaped the earlier maelstrom is at least able to fill Manley in on the fact that Calloway is an infamous hacker, and that's why there's no trace of his ID in any police database, but just as that valuable information is imparted, Calloway manages to escape custody, leaving Manley to hunt him down again, this time with the help of local sheriff Zoe Carter (Elizabeth Ludlow). (Evidently because necessity is the mother of invention, the film rather randomly segues from New York to Arkansas, one assumes because there were production credits available in that state.) In the meantime, Calloway's criminal mastermind father Jack (John Cusack) has been introduced, and he seems to have more of a part in the situation than might initially be presumed. It's also more than obvious that this was a one or two day shoot for Cusack, with a number of scenes which are largely missing any of the other supposed stars.

The ineffectiveness, indeed downright shambles at times, of this screenplay is almost hard to describe. Nothing is ever explained very well (if at all), histories and interrelationships are left to the viewer to divine (if they care), and the result is a film that derives whatever energy it has from "simpler" things like people getting shot repeatedly. Performances are all over the map in this piece, and Hirsch in particular seems to want to make Calloway at least slightly on the spectrum, which actually may provoke laughs at inappropriate moments. Kind of interestingly, there are two other "former marquee stars" lurking in the background, Andrew Stevens (who also produced) and William Katt, though, like Cusack, they're largely in paycheck cameo mode.

Note: My colleague Brian Orndorf was as underwhelmed by Pursuit as I was. You can read Brian's thoughts here.

Pursuit Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Pursuit is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. The closing credits roll feature the Red logo, and I'm assuming things were finished at a 2K DI (the IMDb is silent on any real technical data). This is a rather sharp and appealing looking presentation for the most part, with a nicely suffused palette and generally excellent detail levels. Manley's insanely blue eyes might give Paul Newman a run for his money, and other colors resonate very strongly, especially in some of the more brightly lit outdoor material. A number of establishing shots offer nicely wide vistas with appealing depth of field. Some stylistic quirks, like having text messages appear in the frame (see screenshot 1) or shots of computer monitors (see screenshot 10) don't always offer the same consistency in detail, but are typically short in duration. A few interior shots, including early scenes of Calloway doing his hacking thing, can have slight deficits in shadow definition.

Pursuit Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Pursuit has a surprisingly effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, at least for an apparently less than fulsomely budgeted production which does often come off as a straight to video offering. Huge washes of low frequency blasts are mixed with lower strings at times which waft menacingly through the side and rear channels, and the hotel shootout in particular offers some zinging placement of chaotic sound effects. Outdoor material also features realistically designed ambient environmental effects. Dialogue (such as it is) is presented cleanly and clearly. Optional English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles are available.

Pursuit Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes of Pursuit (HD; 8:13) is standard issue EPK material, with the featured interview being Andrew Stevens, There's also some candid footage that may appeal to some fans.


• Trailer (HD; 2:08)

Additionally, a digital copy is included and packaging features a slipcover.

Pursuit Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's both too much and not enough going on in Pursuit, often at cross purposes. Shoddily written to the point of incomprehensibility at times, and without a firm directorial control on some of the more eccentric performance choices, the film has a few bursts of energy in some of the action scenes, but that's about it in terms of "entertainment" value. Technical merits are surprisingly strong for such an apparently unambitious effort, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.