Skin Trade Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Skin Trade Blu-ray Movie Review

Bruised

Reviewed by Michael Reuben August 24, 2015

If one approaches Skin Trade as a generic action movie featuring familiar faces from several major genre films, it's a reasonably diverting entertainment. After all, how often does one film include the likes of RoboCop (Peter Weller), Hellboy (Ron Perlman), Spawn (Michael Jai White), He-Man (Dolph Lundgren) and the Protector (Tony Jaa)? But if one takes Skin Trade on the terms suggested by its co-writer, producer and star, Dolph Lundgren, who has offered the film as a call to action against the scourge of human trafficking, then Skin Trade is a bust. Since when have popcorn movies been effective as a tool of consciousness-raising? They're called "popcorn movies" because the only action they inspire is moving one's hand between the mouth and a container of comestibles. Otherwise, you remain seated, stare at the screen and wait for the villain to get his ass righteously kicked. The more dastardly the crime, the more satisfying the eventual closure when justice is dispensed—and then the credits roll. If genre films could inspire their viewers to action in the real world, drug dealers would have been toast long ago.

Lundgren began writing the script for Skin Trade after learning about international sex trafficking from news reports. He initially set the story entirely in the U.S. but was persuaded to relocate it to Thailand, because so much of the sex trade is based in the Far East. An added incentive was the lower cost of filming abroad and the ability to co-star with martial arts superstar Tony Jaa. As cops pursuing the same criminal kingpin, Lundgren and Jaa are initially pitted against one another in the mistaken belief that they are enemies. Eventually they realize they must work together. What do you suppose, though, is the more memorable and marketable element of Skin Trade—the evil deeds of the sex traffickers or the prolonged fight sequence in which a lithe and youthful Tony Jaa gracefully runs rings around the hulking (and much older) Dolph Lundgren?

With his four sons as lieutenants, a Serbian mobster named Viktor Dragovic (Perlman) runs one of the world's largest and most profitable sex trafficking operations. In Bangkok, Det. Tony Vitayakul (Jaa) has been attempting to penetrate Dragovic's organization, which is run locally from a nightclub managed by his third son, Ivan (David Westerman). Tony's chief resource is a waitress at the club named Min (Celina Jade), who was herself sold to traffickers at a tender age. In a questionable move on Tony's part, he has also fallen in love with Min.

Halfway around the world in Newark, New Jersey, Det. Nick Cassidy (Lundgren) receives a tip that Dragovic himself is in town. Under the leadership of Capt. Costello (Weller) and in coordination with an FBI force headed by Special Agent Reed (White), the police stake out the docks where Dragovic and his sons are receiving a cargo ship container of "merchandise". During the arrest, Cassidy kills Dragovic's youngest son in self-defense, prompting Dragovic to vow revenge as soon as he makes bail, which he does almost immediately. Later that night, Cassidy's home is attacked. His wife and daughter (Tasya Teles and Chloe Babcock) are lost, and Cassidy is grievously wounded.

When Cassidy awakens weeks later in the hospital, he is no longer a cop but a vigilante. Leaving carnage in his wake, he ascertains Dragovic's current whereabouts from his attorney, then departs Newark for Bangkok, with the police and the FBI in pursuit. The Bangkok police have been alerted to watch for Cassidy's arrival, but so has Dragovic. The vengeful crime lord has bought off someone to frame Cassidy for the murder of a Bangkok cop, so that Tony Vitayakul and his colleagues won't just detain Cassidy; they'll hunt him down and eliminate him. Cassidy's search for Dragovic quickly escalates into a series of deadly confrontations.

Skin Trade's fight sequences are its strongest component, because, with so many experienced martial artists in the cast, the bouts can be shot in continuous takes without stunt doubles. They don't have to be invented in the editing room using anonymous closeups of body parts that make it impossible to appreciate the skill of the combatants. Jaa moves with the grace of a ballet dancer, and White has the regal bearing of a medieval champion. Even the usually stolid Lundgren rises to the occasion, especially in his final confrontation with Viktor Dragovic.

In the face of such genre satisfactions, do the filmmakers really expect to make any lasting impression with occasional scenes of terrified young girls kidnapped, brutalized and held prisoner in cages (or, in one instance, dead from neglect)? If Skin Trade were truly serious about combating the evils of sex trafficking, one would expect something practical, such as a solicitation after the credits for donations to an organization that helps survivors or perhaps a short PSA after the credits the disc extras. Nothing like that appears, but the disc does contain an extra on how the fights were staged.

Skin Trade Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Skin Trade was shot digitally (with the Arri Alexa, according to IMDb) by Ben Nott (Predestination). Post-production was completed on a digital intermediate, from which Magnolia Home Entertainment's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray was presumably sourced by a direct digital path. The image is consistently sharp, clean, detailed and colorful, with no interference or distortion. Blacks for nighttime and dark interior scenes are solid, and contrast levels are appropriate. The lively street locations in Bangkok and the verdant countryside outside the city provide natural production value, of which the photography takes full advantage.

Magnolia has placed the 98-minute film on a BD-25, resulting in an average bitrate of 22.001 Mbps, which is appropriate given the digital origination. The encoding has been carefully done so that even the demanding fight sequences play without visible artifacts.

Skin Trade Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Skin Trade's 5.1 soundtrack, encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA, is an effective if unremarkable mix, with wide dynamic range for the assorted firearms, explosions and crashes (including one spectacular aircraft mishap) that fulfill the requirements of an action film. The surround speakers are used more for a sense of depth than for discrete rear channel effects, but the sound field is nicely filled out. The dialogue is generally clear, except for Tony Jaa's English, which he was still learning. The score by Jacob Groth is not as memorable as his music for the original Swedish adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (and its two sequels), but it works well enough to keep up the pace.

Skin Trade Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary with Actor/Writer/Producer Dolph Lundgren: Lundgren provides the history of the project, which dates back many years, praises his collaborators, and explains what he was trying to accomplish with the story. Although he acknowledges the contribution of director Uekrongtham, Lundegren's personal involvement in every phase of making the film is clear, and he often speaks as if he had directed it (which he initially planned to do). For nuts-and-bolts detail on the making of Skin Trade, it's an adequate commentary, but nothing more.



• Deleted/Extended Scenes (1080p; 2.35:1; 7:45): The five scenes are not separately labeled or selectable. None of them add significant plot information or character development.



• The Making of Skin Trade (1080p; 1.78:1; 17:06): This is a typical EPK effort with comments by Lundgren, Perlman, Weller, White, director Uekrongtham and producers Michael Selby and Craig Baumgarten.



• Behind the Action: Fighting You Can Believe (1080p; 1.78:1; 8:15): The same group of interview subjects discuss the film's fight sequences, with additional comments from Tony Jaa.



• Interview with Dolph Lundgren (1080p; 1.78:1; 3:29): Lundgren summarizes some of the key subjects covered in his commentary, including the origin of the film, the authenticity of the fights and the experience of shooting in Thailand.



• A Look at Director Ekachai Uekrongtham (1080p; 1.78:1; 4:58): The young Thai director discusses his approach to the film; the producers describe why they picked him to direct; and Lundgren and Weller discuss working with him.



• Also from Magnolia Home Entertainment: The disc includes trailers for Kill Me Three Times, The Dead Lands and Serena, as well as promos for the Chideo web service and AXS TV. These also play at startup, where they can be skipped with the chapter forward button.



• BD-Live: As of this writing, attempting to access BD-Live gave the message "Check back later for updates".

Skin Trade Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I would probably be more enthusiastic about Skin Trade if its creators hadn't tried to sell it as something more than it is. The film has an interesting cast, good fight sequences and colorful locations. It's a minor but worthwhile genre entry and, on that basis, recommended for at least a rental.