Riot Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Riot Blu-ray Movie Review

Clash of the DTV and MMA Titans...and the leading man.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 15, 2016

The direct to video marketplace -- and its Action genre subset in particular -- is a wasteland of third-rate films starring once-herladed actors, cobbled together on shoestring budgets, constructed of repetitive and vacuous story lines, and paced poorly even at the standard 90-some-minute runtime. Gems are practically impossible to find and honestly entertaining movies a rare treat. Bottom-scraping dreck is a little more common, but most of these movies rise at least an inch or so above the flotsam and jetsam. Most of them fall into a forgettable purgatory in which they scrape on by with a name or two on the cover art and just enough muscle in the peripherals to prevent a cinematic cataclysm. Riot is one such film, a movie that's a world away from excellence but only a stone's throw from disaster. The film, from Writer/Director John Lyde and starring action icon Dolph Lundgren, MMA champ Chuck Liddell, and the muscled Matthew Reese, cobbles together a basic story of revenge in a prison setting. Hardly spectacular and a cut above the trash, the movie embodies typical DTV fodder and should entertain audiences willing to give it a go with zero expectations beyond the expectation of forgetting it exists minutes after the credits begin to roll.

Riot control.

Jack Stone (Matthew Reese) is a cop out for blood. But the man he wants is holed up on the inside. A devious drug kingpin named Balam (Chuck Liddell) operates right under the nose of the law -- literally -- living out of a posh suite inside the prison proper. He's surrounded by thuggish underlings who shake down the prison population and keep anyone who would disrupt Balam's life or business in check. Stone, out to avenge his murdered wife, stages a deadly bank robbery and soon enough finds himself behind prison walls. He's instantly a marked man, and even an individual of his stature and strength will need some help. Enter a seemingly lowly and slow custodian named William (Dolph Lundgren) who may be able to do more for Stone than clean up the blood from the floors and walls.

Riot doesn't exactly set the world on fire with its story. A murdered wife and bloodlust for revenge, a tough-edged drug kingpin, and a few character surprises are all she wrote. The movie doesn't make much use of its limited dramatic muscle -- it barely warms up, never mind put it through a vigorous workout -- and instead happily goes through the motions of tough talk, fisticuffs galore, and several side stories that only seem to get in the way of the action. Story revelations don't amount to much. All of the secondary and tertiary bits don't disrupt the core story that is the drive to the inevitable showdown between Stone and Balam, but they do run interference and slow things down, sometimes considerably. Most such scenes feel more like tacked-on noise and less necessary insight, much of it appearing in the movie to stretch the runtime rather than add any serious dramatic nuance or bite to a film that's otherwise almost painfully straightforward and cliché-riddled.

It's all in good fun, though. It's not like Riot sets out to be some monumental Action hallmark. It's a crude, low-budget beat-em-up that, despite some slowdowns, handles its nuts-and-bolts action scenes and core character moments just well enough to get by on adrenaline alone. Matthew Reese doesn't bring much personality to the movie. His emotional output never connects with the audience, and both he and the filmmakers seem content to let his muscles do the talking. Lundgren isn't in the movie all that much, at least not enough to warrant such prominent placement on the cast list and box art. His character is as transparent as a sheet of glass, but he soaks up the opportunity to play dumb and hide in plain sight, as it were, and make his real entrance when it counts the most. Chuck Liddell is the movie's finest acting asset. While his scripted character is nothing worth writing home about -- at least beyond the whole "he operates out of a prison" angle which is interesting and unique but rarely manipulated to anywhere close to full advantage and potential -- he injects a certain cruelty to the part, a tough, no-frills, don't-mess-with-him kind of vibe that could have been more but that's pretty impressive for a character who otherwise amounts to little more than a target for the hero.

Riot Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Riot's 1080p transfer impresses, particularly for a lower budget DTV title. The digital source photography captures plenty of intimate details. Skin textures are particularly revealing -- pores, tattoos, wrinkles -- but so too are grimy cinder block walls, worn prison jump suits, and other little background and accentuating details that enjoy pinpoint clarity across the board. Colors are satisfying. The most prominent color in the movie is orange by way of the prison uniform. The orange is striking, particularly standing out against an otherwise dreary color scheme within prison walls and other assorted backgrounds that are cobbled together of bland, pedestrian shades. Various shots outside of the prison yield a satisfying, but unremarkable, color scheme and presentation. Skin tones and black levels raise no alarms. Noise ranges from mild to moderate and aliasing can be severe, particularly in city exterior shots that appear to be digitally crafted rather than photographed in real life.

Riot Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Riot features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that's always finding a means of engaging the surrounds and providing plenty of listening entertainment. For a relatively small movie, the sound design proves rather involved, even if it's just in the recreation of various buzzing alarms, slamming prison cell doors, and other environment-specific details. Action scenes are likewise appropriately chaotic, with crashes, punches, smashes, screams, and general action din altogether yielding an engaging experience that makes the job of transforming the listening area into the prison relatively simple. Music is fine, enjoying quality spacing along the front. Mild surround support is apparent, and the low end is suitably potent. Dialogue is clear and accurate, enjoying excellent prioritization and natural center placement. A few lines emanate from the sides in an effort to engender better spatial awareness.

Riot Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Riot contains no supplemental content. A voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy is included with purchase.

Riot Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Riot isn't exactly a diamond in the rough. It's more like a grain of sand on the beach, a completely unremarkable bit of moviemaking that scrapes by on a recycled premise, a decent cast, and a setting of which it takes mild advantage. The movie could have been so much more, and it could have been a fair bit less. It's a decent enough time killer but hardly worth a purchase, particularly considering that Universal's Blu-ray offers no special features. Video and audio, however, are fine, particularly for a lower-budget release. Rent it on a slow weekend.