Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Sleepless Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 17, 2017

Edgy, gritty, violent Cop dramas are hardly novelty items in Hollywood. Training Day, Cop Land, The Departed...the list includes some fantastic motion pictures but, certainly, plenty of pretenders as well. It's true of every genre. The greats are welcomed, the bottom feeders are dismissed, and the midrange films work to push the envelope or bring something new or unique to the table. The latest genre entry is Sleepless, Director Baran bo Odar's violent, relentless tale of drugs, family, loyalty, and violence galore. It falls into that midrange category, covering up its basic plot characteristics and developments with intense and well-staged action. The film isn't afraid to push hard, but whether it pushes hard enough in terms of both its action and its drama determines how close it swings to one extreme or the other.

Vincent Downs (Jamie Foxx) is a Las Vegas cop on the wrong side of the law. He and his partner find themselves involved in a deadly shootout and in possession of a large supply of illegal narcotics. They convince headquarters to put them on the case so they might better cover their own tracks. Things seem to be going well until a group of thugs, operating under orders from crime boss Stanley Rubino (Dermot Mulroney), stab Vincent in the side and kidnap his son Thomas (Octavius J. Johnson). To get him back, Vincent is tasked with returning the drugs. But a ruse results in an even more influential and ruthless criminal, Rob Novak (Scoot McNairy), appearing on the scene and stopping at nothing to put Vincent down for good.

Sleepless' flaws aren't killer, but they do hold the movie in check. Characters aren't particularly interesting either in terms of how they are written or how they are performed. There's the usual assemblage at play, with the gray-area cop in the middle of the bunch that includes more clearly defined fellow officers, villains of varying degrees of evil and intensity, and a few civilians caught in the middle. The story isn't strong enough to support any sort of deep characterization; the film prefers to punch and shoot its way to success, which it does well. That's not to say the characters are poor, thats just to say that they're props, figures to drive the action, not necessarily shape it in any meaningful way. There's not a lot of chemistry on the screen; every actor seems in it for himself or herself. Part of that is the way it's written -- none of them have much in common, and even the father-son relationship lacks any real, believable, tangible emotion. Both Jamie Foxx and Octavius J. Johnson are fine in their respective father-son roles, but the emotional component seems lost.

If nothing else, Sleepless knows how to put together action. Once the plot is set in motion, much of the film's second half could be described as one extended action scene. It shifts from character to character and place to place, but the film is relentless in its refusal to slow down, and none of the action feels flat or inorganic. It's high intensity from start to finish, with a standout scene taking place in a kitchen where fists are joined by knives, meat cleavers, and even a mop. It's expertly choreographed and superbly performed by the actors; it's slick and intense but never feels "Hollywood." the sense of peril is obvious, and real human adrenaline, not carefully planned moves, seems to command the scene. It's one of the more enjoyable hand-to-hand action scenes out there. Gunfights are a little less creative, but the film does throw out a few surprises in how they resolve.

Sleepless Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sleepless features a solidly performing 1080p transfer. The image is visually unremarkable, for the most part. The film favors a darker tone and texture, and the digital source leaves it a bit flat. Detailing is adequate all things considered, with faces revealing a fair bit of intricacy and various clothes, particularly some of the more nicely appointed suits, showing finer fabric and stitching qualities. Backgrounds in casinos, police departments, alleyways, and luxurious hotel accommodations feature enough basic tactile definition to satisfy format expectations. Colors appear well balanced, not often particularly striking but revealing enough natural punch to please. Black levels are appropriately deep with only a few instances where they push too pale around the edges. Flesh tones present no issues. Light noise is occasionally visible. Aliasing can be seen on a few building façades during Vegas flyover shots; the most prominent comes at the 58-minute mark.

Sleepless Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sleepless' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack would be excellent were it not for occasionally problematic dialogue. The spoken word has a tendency to inexplicably dip down in volume, not to a completely inaudible level, but close, even at reference volume. Listen at the 9:30 mark and again at the 35-minuate mark; dialogue falls off a sonic cliff, not just poorly prioritized under background din but appreciably dropping in volume for no apparent reason. Another scene at an empty baseball stadium offers far too much reverberation than seems necessary, to the point that each word is practically heard twice; the environment doesn't lend itself to such a presentation. It's a shame, because the track is otherwise terrific. Music is full bodied, full of life, and offers plenty of low end support. The bottom end can go a bit rattly rather than maintain a smoothness and balance, but it certainly tries. Gunfire is energetic. Shots hit hard, bullets whiz around the stage with ease, and shots emanate from every speaker. Environmental din is very well defined and expertly introduced, whether inside casinos or the police department. Straighten out the dialogue, which admittedly isn't an issue in every scene, and this is a 4.5-grade track.

Sleepless Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Sleepless contains deleted scenes and a featurette. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 5:19 total runtime): Theater Tickets, The Bottle Threat, Banging Around, Got to Go, and You Know My Voice.
• One Long Night: The Making of Sleepless (1080p, 4:23): A quick discussion of core story components, themes, characters, the qualities the cast brought to the film, action scenes and stunt work, sets, and Director Baran bo Odar's work.

Sleepless Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sleepless is an enjoyable film. Its action works very well -- it's intense, organic, never feels "Hollywood" -- but the core story falls rather flat and the characters are fairly empty. There's little sincere emotion or very much in the way of tangible chemistry between any of the actors. The film works well enough as a time killer, and its action scenes are spectacular, so lower expectations and enjoy the ride. Universal's Blu-ray offers a scant collection of extras. Video is fine but audio is a bit troubled in the dialogue department. Worth a look.