Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Striking Distance Blu-ray Movie Review

This solid genre picture looks and sounds good on Blu-ray.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 16, 2009

Psst. Pittsburgh Police.

The Cop movie lives on a road well traveled, the past several decades in particular a venerable caravan of hopefuls, each only wanting to somehow, some way, stand out amongst the copycats. It's practically become a genre unto itself, and like any genre, it's got its own collection of worthwhile titles, bottom feeders, and a plethora of selections that fall somewhere into a middle ground that's akin to a pile of football players scratching, biting, and shoving their way to the ball. The 1993 Bruce Willis (Die Hard) outing Striking Distance throws its weight onto the heap and emerges unscathed. A solid entry in every regard, Striking Distance delivers a worthwhile picture that won't win any awards but should satiate the appetite for a good all-around effort that maintains a fair level of suspense, features an assortment of typical but never at all ridiculous action scenes, and creates a world that is populated by several intriguing characters.

The cops that saved the fish that saved Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Homicide Detective Tom Hardy (Willis) finds himself shunned by his fellow officers. He's ratted out a corrupt cop, Jimmy Detillo (Robert Pastorelli), who happens to be both his partner and his cousin. The force is also on edge thanks to a string of serial killings plaguing the city, the murderer taunting the police by calling them up while in the act of killing his victim and playing the song "Little Red Riding Hood" in the background. On their way to the annual police ball, Hardy and his father, Vince (John Mahoney), become involved in a high-speed pursuit of a suspect thought to be connected to the serial killings. The chase ends with Hardy wounded and unconscious, his father dead, the suspect escaped, and soon thereafter, Jimmy dead by way of suicide. Two years later, Hardy has been unceremoniously demoted to river patrol though still no less hated by his peers. He's forced to team up with a new partner, Jo (Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and the City: The Movie), who comes to understand Hardy's checkered past and assist him when the serial killings begin anew, opening old wounds and presenting Hardy with an opportunity to clear his name and put his troubled past behind him once and for all.

Though Striking Distance begins with an almost surreal murder sequence that sets a none-too-promising tone for the film, it picks itself up nicely and continues to deliver a story that is defined by familial interactions where the balance between family and duty is questioned, turned on its head, questioned some more, and ultimately brought full circle in an emotionally challenging finale. Though the movie may very well never feature much more than a dime-store quality exterior, its emotional core, interesting premise, and focus on the hardships of an entire family in the line of duty brings plenty of intriguing possibilities and a world of cinematic potential to the table. For a mid-level Action picture, Striking Distance does well to examine and integrate some of the questions raised and emotions unearthed by a plot that focuses on the consequences of honor, truth, and loyalty both to a job and to a familial unit that finds its bond in a common thread that keeps them more closely knit than blood: the police force. Throughout the film, it seems that a badge, not blood, defines the makeup of the family, both for better or for worse. It's a fascinating premise that is sufficiently explored in Striking Distance, the film remaining on a consistently even keel that delivers equal parts action, intrigue, and emotion.

One unique aspect of Striking Distance lies in its setting. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania replaces the typical New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago settings as the plot of real estate that serves as the backdrop to this film, and the city's rich heritage and notable locations are to be found -- and well-integrated into the story -- throughout. Striking Distance earns an authentic look and feel thanks to plenty of Pittsburgh notables that pop up throughout the film and firmly cement it in the city's culture of the early 1990s. Viewers familiar with the Steel City will take note, for instance, of the presence of real-world news anchors Sally Wiggin and Ken Rice on television sets during the film. Hardy's apartment as seen at the beginning of the film is littered with small touches that add a unique Pittsburgh flair to the scene, including an early 1990s Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup Championship poster, a vintage Pittsburgh Pirates team photograph, a Pittsburgh Steelers button, a Penn State Nittany Lions cap, and a Rolling Rock beer (brewed in nearby Latrobe, Pennsylvania) nicknack. The film also integrates several city landmarks and locations into the story and, of course, sets up much of the action on any one of the city's three rivers: the Allegheny, the Ohio, and the Monongahela.

Striking Distance Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Striking Distance veers onto Blu-ray with a satisfactory 1080p image framed inside a 1.85:1 window. This transfer delivers a good, crisp image throughout, with only the occasional hiccup or otherwise distracting shot to take away from what is, generally, a rather good film-like appearance. Striking Distance isn't slathered in film grain, but it is there in small doses. Several shots -- the film's open in particular -- appear mostly free of grain but don't appear to be digitally manipulated. Throughout the film, colors appear natural if not the slightest bit reserved, more an attribute of the film's intended look than any shortcoming of the transfer. The level of fine detail throughout the film never goes above and beyond the call of duty, but there are never any occurrences where the image falls short of delivering a suitable upgrade over typical standard definition imagery. Though not terribly sharp, Striking Distance never appears abundantly soft; only a few select scenes take on a distractingly undefined appearance. Flesh tones and blacks never fall too far out of line, save for the film's climactic scene where contrast wavers a bit and blacks take on a brighter, slightly unnatural appearance. Free of all but a few scattered artifacts, Striking Distance, on the whole, looks rather good on Blu-ray.

Striking Distance Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Striking Distance washes up on Blu-ray with an active and satisfying Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The rear speakers are exercised regularly throughout in several key areas: in support of the action, delivering discrete effects, and creating a realistic environmental ambience. A thunderstorm heard early in the film, for instance, delivers a rather good effect. The rain won't exactly drench the listening area, but it does pour to good effect across the front and with noticeable, but not completely enveloping, rear channel participation. Fortunately, the action sequences pack a good wallop. Explosions deliver the goods; they're not quite up to par with the latest in whiz-bang sound effects, but for an early 1990s, moderately-budgeted Action flick, the aggressive nature of such effects comes as a welcome surprise. Likewise, the car chase that ends the film's first act feature a plethora of entertaining effects; vehicles slam onto the ground as they roll over multiple times; they zoom through the listening area to good directional effect; and the metal-on-metal crashes play with both volume and clarity. The track delivers a fine level of atmospherics, too. One scene delivers a chirping cricket that sounds all too real, where only the pause button reveals whether in fact it's in the soundtrack or back in the corner of the room. Rounded out by flawless dialogue reproduction, Striking Distance delivers an all-around solid listen.

Striking Distance Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Striking Distance features no film-related supplements. Only a generic BD-Live (Blu-ray profile 2.0) page and 1080p trailers for The International, Lakeview Terrace, The Da Vinci Code, Tears of the Sun, Vantage Point, and 88 Minutes are included.

Striking Distance Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Striking Distance stays within the comfortable confines of its genre but sits on one of its higher perches. Though clearly not one of the great Action films of all time, or even the greatest Bruce Willis Action picture out there, Striking Distance nevertheless manages to do everything right, the film featuring adequately developed characters, decent acting, solid direction, and an interesting plot that maintains a suitable aura of suspense. There are certainly far, far worse ways to spend the Action movie dollar; Striking Distance delivers just enough quality content to make it a worthwhile investment. Sony's Blu-ray disc delivers a consistently good 1080p picture and a strong lossless soundtrack. It's just too bad the disc lacks any film-related supplements. Still, this Blu-ray release of Striking Distance earns a recommendation when it hits a price befitting a featureless catalogue title.