Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Security Blu-ray Movie Review

Antonio Banderas: Mall Cop.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 31, 2017

It's Die Hard and The Equalizer meet Mall Cop. Director Alain Desrochers' Security is a makeshift movie, constructed of spare parts and the best ideas and scenes from better Action movies. The sum of its part aren't as good as any of its major influencers, but it's nevertheless a surprisingly capable little movie, entertaining though certainly predictable, lower budget but impressing given its direct-to-video roots. With two strong lead actors carrying the picture through what are otherwise baseline genre motions, Security elevates well above the dregs of the DTV Marketplace and sits pretty above most any other likeminded contenders that tend to overcomplicate matters rather than put together a lean, enjoyable Action film, characteristics which define this one.

Eddie Deacon (Antonio Banderas) is a down-on-his luck Army veteran who is desperate for employment. His rank of Captain over qualifies him for many positions, but he needs something, immediately. The placement office is of no help, but at the last minute his point of contact finds him a job working night security at a mall. He eagerly takes the position where he meets a ragtag bunch of guards who don't take the job all that seriously. On his first night on the job, a rainy night, he's challenged in a way he's never been challenged before. Power fluctuates. Land lines and cell phones are suddenly rendered useless. A young girl (Katherine de la Rocha) pounds on the door in search of safe haven. Eddie lets her in and quickly learns that she's a key witness against a ruthless gang of criminals led by the vicious Charlie (Ben Kingsley). With no guns and little chance of survival, Eddie and the guards must prepare a makeshift defense and hope they can fend off waves of well-armed and professionally trained attackers who will stop at nothing to take or kill the girl.

For all the other components that make up the movie, one that stands out right off the bat is that Banderas' Eddie Deacon seems, in a way, modeled after John Rambo. He's a skilled military veteran living in a state of despair and aimlessness and he's willing to take any odd job that might help take him closer to home. The film is engaging from the beginning; Banderas and the filmmakers commendably capture the character's essence simply, immediately, and without distortion or playing games. He's a near broken man, but a firm man, who will take charge of his life and situation if only given an opportunity to do so. It's basic yet competent and quality character definition that reveals his personality and his plight simultaneously. He's instantly worth rooting for. The film loses a bit of its steady cadence and steam once he reaches the mall and meets an eclectic quartet of fellow guards who are all younger and far less disciplined than he and, frankly, unprepared to handle a crisis situation. But once a crisis situation presents itself, they all grow up, in their own way, and quickly, some effortlessly, some with some prodding, but their transformations come naturally and effectively to erase any necessary bad taste they leave in the audience's mouth upon introduction.

Perhaps the film's biggest drawback is the boring set. The mall lacks creativity and visual appeal. It's a soundstage set and looks it. The audience rarely enjoys a sense of space or place; beyond the basic security office none of the locations have any real identity or sense of purpose. There's an introductory sequence that sees Eddie being toured through the mall, but it amounts to little more than facts and figures. The mall never becomes a character, essentially, which is a major mistake when it's the key location for the film. It becomes little more than various spaces with a metal door blocking off one of the anchor stores the only distinguishing characteristic. Action scenes are fine, finessed on occasion and intense as necessary. There's nothing necessarily creative about them, but the gunplay is solid enough and fits the movie's personality and constraints just fine. Banderas isn't the world's greatest action hero. He's prone to mumbling a bit but still looks good enough and is at least physically convincing in the part. Kingsley does what he can with a few choice lines ("I'll huff...and I'll puff...") and plays a convincing-enough lead villain.

Security Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Security was digitally photographed and presents nicely on Blu-ray. The 1080p image is stable, a bit flat and smooth, but more than capable of reveling quality detailing, particularly in better light, which is largely limited to the movie's bookends. In the middle, the movie favors blacks, blues, and grays, a drab palette under bleak lighting conditions that isn't exactly teeming with opportunity to dazzle with high-yield, clearly visible details, but basic faces, clothes, and storefronts hold firm. That simple color palette is really only broken up by the girl's pink sweater and colorful children's walkie-talkies. Fortunately, black levels hold deep and noise is minimal, even in that low light. Flesh tones appear accurate under any given condition. Mild banding appears in a few scenes but is never problematic.

Security Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Security features a steady and able DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's suitably big and robust. Music is well spaced and hearty, aggressively presented and with a solid foundational low end support element. A shootout early in the film, complimented by a steady falling rain, offers pleasing intensity to gunfire, yielding the proper level of pop and vigor through every speaker. Gunfire can and does lack more significant punch in some other scenes; a shootout in a tight hallway in the mall's bowels later in the film fails to rise to the occasion, offering more a pop-gun sensation rather than a realistic ear-ringing thump. A car crashes into the mall with a positive low end heft, offering the most intensive subwoofer moment in the movie. Light immersive atmospherics help shape a few locales, though the movie by design is not often in need of them. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and naturally positioned.

Security Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Security contains one extra. 'Security:' Behind the Scenes (1080p, 8:10) is a basic piece that introduces characters, recounts the plot, features cast and crew interviews, shows clips from the film, etc. A UV/iTunes digital copy code is included with purchase.

Security Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Security doesn't rise well above its DTV limitations, but it gets the most it can out of those limitations. Hardly smart, hardly new, hardly engrossing, the film nevertheless works, and works very well, as simple shoot-em-up entertainment that quickly builds a familiar but likable lead character and drops him in a familiar but enjoyable scenario. Banderas and Kingsley squeeze enough depth out of their parts to make them matter. The movie's one major flaw is the total lack of character of its main location, but it's otherwise a top-of-the-DTV-food-chain Action flick. Universal's Blu-ray features good video and audio. Supplements are limited to an eight-minute fluff piece. Recommended.