The Doorman Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

The Doorman Blu-ray Movie Review

Yippee ki — eh?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 22, 2021

After having endured The Doorman and having then started on some typical basic background research on the film for purposes of the writing of this review, I was actually kind of shocked to see the “Awards” hyperlink for the IMDb listing for the film not grayed out (meaning it was clickable). Color me slightly less surprised, then, to discover upon clicking on the link that The Doorman was actually named Worst Film of the Year by the St. Louis Film Critics Association, which I might jokingly say increased both my awareness of and appreciation for that particular group of obviously erudite analysts. I’m frankly not sure I’d rate the film as low as they did, but it’s another tired riff on Die Hard, and it is derivative of too many other films to actually name in its focus on a noble, heroic type who faults themself for a tragedy involving others and who is traumatized by that event. At least in this instance, The Doorman makes a stab at “innovation” by having the focal character be a woman, in this case a former Marine named Ali (Ruby Rose), but I’m sure there are legions of film fans out there who could recite a laundry list of action adventure films with feminine leads who portray characters who have undergone similar “life changing” incidents. In this case, we're introduced to Ali as a Gunnery Sergeant on assignment overseas tasked with accompanying what seems to be an ambassador's little girl on some kind of official visit also including the (female) ambassador and other dignitaries. It probably doesn't take a rocket scientist, or graduate from the Syd Field school of screenwriting, to foretell that disaster awaits, with Ali, despite protean efforts, unable to save anyone but herself from the carnage.

The story segues back to the United States to find Ali emotionally roiled and plagued by nightmares by the experience. Her Uncle Pat (Philip Whitchurch) urges her to reconnect with her brother-in-law Jon Stanton (Rupert Everett), the widower of Ali's late sister, if only to forge a connection with her niece and nephew. He also sets her up as a doorman at a tony apartment house in New York called The Carrington, which seems to be a pretty low stress assignment since the building is undergoing renovations and not that many people are living there. Can you feel the plot points being assembled as if they're numbered? In a none too surprising turn of events, Jon and his children Max (Julian Feder) and Lily (Kila Lord Cassidy) of course are residents of the place and Uncle Pat has been working overtime to arrange a little family reunion (there's a perhaps just slightly smarmy subtext due to the clear implication that Jon and Ali were once a "thing").

Putative co-star Jean Reno doesn't show up until second act-ish territory, playing a painting connoisseur with a vicious streak (and several henchmen acolytes) named Victor Dubois who is on the hunt for some priceless art which has been secreted somewhere in the building (this particular plot point is also beyond hoary, and has been used in one form or another in any number of films, including straight out psychological suspense films like Gaslight, albeit admittedly in that instance the priceless item is not a painting). There are actually some moments of relative angst once this character is introduced, though curiously a lot of it comes from his interactions with an elderly couple with a history with Victor rather than his later (completely predictable) showdowns with Jon and his family.

It's almost amazing how much The Doorman ultimately, um, borrows from Die Hard, and there might actually be a rather debilitating drinking game that could be developed in that regard, one which might have the added benefit of making the proceedings more generally tolerable. There's nothing inherently "wrong" with The Doorman, other than its almost shocking reliance on other, arguably much better, films, but it's simply so derivative and unsurprising that it can be somewhat of a slog to sit through, even given some good action scenes and a typically peripatetic style added to the proceedings by frequently gonzo director Ryûhei Kitamura. For those not conversant with this Japanese auteur, Arrow has just recently released Kitamura's Versus, which, despite its over the top aspects, might actually be a more exciting viewing experience for some.

Note: My colleague Brian Orndorf was as generally unenthused about The Doorman as I was. You can read Brian's thoughts here.

The Doorman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Doorman is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The IMDb lists Arri Alexa Minis and I'm assuming this was finished at a 2K DI. I've been on record before stating that at times I find the Alexa capture of dimly lit material to look on the murky side, and that's once again the case with The Doorman, something that may be especially noticeable because so much of the film takes place in the bowels of the apartment house. There are several nicely bright and well detailed sequences, including bookending segments detailing Ali's failed diplomatic assignment and then the brief happily ever after-ish coda out in bright sunlight, and in those moments, the palette is attractively suffused and detail levels are excellent. My score is 4.25.

The Doorman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Doorman features a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track that definitely provides surround activity, but which is not quite at the slam bang level some might expect from an action oriented piece. Part of this is due to the setting, with a lot of the film taking place in relatively small interior spaces, but the opening sequence, for example, has both nice engagement of the side and rear channels as well as least a burst of LFE once hostilities break out. A lot of the combat scenes later in the film do offer nice discrete placement of individual effects as Ali marauds her way through various interior spaces and nemeses. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional subtitles in several languages are available.

The Doorman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• In Service of Others: Reflections of the Cast (1080p; 12:13) features okay interviews.

The Doorman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Considering his penchant for taking on any number of lower profile, at times DTV, material (a lot of coming from Lionsgate), Bruce Willis might have made a better stunt casting choice for the villain here, and that at least might have elevated what is undeniably Die Hard redux, with a few salient changes made to keep those pesky copyright lawyers at bay. The film is generally well staged, but, boy, is it relentlessly predictable. Technical merits are generally solid for those who are considering a purchase.