5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The world's deadliest assassin and New York's biggest screw-up are mistaken for each other at an Airbnb rental.
Starring: Kevin Hart, Woody Harrelson, Jasmine Mathews, Kaley Cuoco, Pierson FodeComedy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Region A, C (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The mistaken identity action comedy 'The Man from Toronto' makes its Blu-ray debut courtesy of Universal. Starring Kevin Hart as the bumbling
Teddy Jackson and Woody Harrelson as the titular character, this enjoyable film dishes out laughs and mayhem in equal measure. Special features
are limited to a collection of deleted scenes as well as a few previews for other films. Both the audio and video presentations meet or exceed
expectations. A Digital Code is also included but a slipcover is not.
The motormouthed Teddy Jackson (Kevin Hart, Ride Along, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) can't catch a break. As the film opens,
a number of self-shot videos of Teddy's fitness-related money-making schemes play out in rapid succession. Each earnest video succeeds in
lampooning a number of actual fitness products and fads such as resistance bands and pushes them to the limits of ridiculousness with Teddy
unintentionally demonstrating the pitfalls and hazards of each piece of equipment cementing his status as a buffoon and ensuring the ultimate
failure of each venture. When he proposes his latest idea, "Non-Contact Boxing" (or "Teddy Box") to a local gym owner, its innate silliness coupled
with the deeply flawed marketing brochure he was hired to produce for the gym, he's quickly fired.
Teddy's long-suffering wife, Lori (Jasmine Mathews, Big George Foreman, The Tomorrow War) remains by his side despite his
shortcomings, though her patience is beginning to wear thin. As the couple starts to try and have a family, she urges him to land a job and take on
small tasks that he can actually accomplish rather than jumping from one failed grand plan to the next. By sharing that people at her office use the
phrase "Teddy'd it" to refer to a mistake, she hopes to further motivate him to change. Initially, as he shares his plan to take her away to a cabin in
Onancock, VA to celebrate her birthday and work on trying to have a baby, she's optimistic. After dropping her at a day spa, however, his inability to
keep their printer filled with ink leads him to check into the very wrong cabin.
Meanwhile, we are introduced to the film's titular "The Man from Toronto" (Woody Harrelson, Cheers, Zombieland), an assassin of
legendary status. An expert in 23 forms of martial arts, he is partial to using 19th-century American poetry as codes for his contacts. He arrives at
a remote location to find a man tied to a chair. Tasked with obtaining a critical piece of information from the man, Toronto dramatically unpacks his
knives and other implements of torture as he tells his subject a grim tale from his youth. Based on the strength of his reputation and his
intimidating display, Toronto is able to extract the needed information without spilling a single drop of blood.
Walking into the wrong cabin while holding a large kitchen knife and a box of supplies for the weekend, Teddy is met by a man expecting The Man
from Toronto, whom he has never met, and he is thus mistaken for the assassin. After being taken down to the basement and seeing a man tied to
the rafters, Teddy senses something is wrong and realizes that his only hope of making it out alive is by playing along and pretending to be Toronto.
Handling this situation as incompetently as he's approached everything else, Teddy is able to make the captive man tell his captors what they need
to know, based on Toronto's reputation and the erratic, nonstop drivel he relentlessly and nervously spews. Immediately afterward, the FBI arrives
and apprehends Teddy, quickly understanding that this is a case of mistaken identity. But as the contact at the cabin texted a photo of Teddy to his
employer, Colonel Marin (Alejandro De Hoyos), he is pressed into service to continue to impersonate The Man from Toronto so that Marin can be
captured and lives can be saved. The actual Toronto pursues Teddy so that he can put an end to the man who's stolen his identity, make good on
the
contract he agreed to, and obtain the $2 million dollar payday he's been promised.
The Man From Toronto looks very good on Blu-ray. Fine detail is readily apparent on faces and fabrics, with many chances to see every line, wrinkle, and blemish on Harrelson's face. The dim basement location where Hart first impersonates Toronto and the dingy desert home where we see Toronto himself in action at the beginning of the film both present the viewer with ample opportunities to explore the busy and grungy sets. Colors appear nicely saturated when the filmmaker is not opting for a more stylized palette, and skin tones are healthy and natural-looking. The picture possesses a nice sense of depth and black levels are typically very satisfying. I didn't detect any instances of banding, noise, or other anomolies.
Although a Dolby Atmos track would have been preferred, The Man from Toronto's English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is quite good. It's a boisterous track that is frequently immersive with surrounds employed to place the viewer inside airplanes, restaurants, fights, and explosions. Dialogue is typically placed front and center and is well-balanced and never at risk of being drowned out by the on-screen action. The track has a big bottom end, with explosions, gunfire, punches, and crashes all landing with pleasing weight and depth. Music is rendered with great precision and is occasionally allowed to build and dominate the track. English, English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles are available.
On-disc special features for The Man From Toronto include:
There is an undeniable cartoonish feel to The Man From Toronto. Every element of the film seems to purposefully build to that end, starting with the level of Teddy's incompetence, and continuing through to Harrelson and Barkin's characters not having actual names, the heavily stereotypical members of the guild of assassins, and the staging of the numerous interrogation and fight sequences. Nothing about the film is ever serious. Even in its darkest moments, it's still exclusively mining for laughs. There's no deep or hidden meaning to the goings on here, it's a solid and entertaining popcorn movie and it knows it. Better CGI and more screen time for Kaley Cuoco would have been welcome improvements, but Harrelson and Hart deliver compelling if familiar performances. The Blu-ray's audio and video presentation don't disappoint, and The Man From Toronto comes recommended for the right price.
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