5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Karen McCoy is a thief who after getting caught is sent to prison for 6 years. After getting released she tries to see her son but her ex won't let her and tells her that he told their son she's dead. Karen's boss, Schmidt who left her in prison wants her to help him with a job. But she refuses. She tries to go straight but her parole officer makes things tough for her. Eventually she learns that Schmidt and her parole officer are working together to get her to do the job. When she still refuses, they grab her son. She then does the case work, one of Schmidt's people, Barker tries to help her.
Starring: Kim Basinger, Val Kilmer, Terence Stamp, Gailard Sartain, Raynor ScheineThriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
It’s easy why 1993’s “The Real McCoy” was made. It’s based on a novel Desmond Lowden and offers actors meaty parts concerning the anxieties of economic and criminal entanglements, unfolding with Georgian thickness as a battle of wits plays out during the preparation and execution of a bank robbery. It’s also a heist movie, which are traditionally easy sells, gifting audiences a chance to spend time with master thieves as they figure out ways to separate piles of cash from their vault home. However, “The Real McCoy” doesn’t have much in the way of dramatic firepower, handing the lead role to Kim Basinger, who’s never been one to project on-screen authority, and the director is Russell Mulcahy, then a mere two years past his nearly career-ending work on “Highlander II: The Quickening.” The puzzle makes sense, but the pieces don’t fit in the picture, which spends more time laboring through tedious confrontations than it does with snappy acts of thievery. It’s clear the feature is trying to do something with its collection of irritable characters and personal connections, but Mulcahy doesn’t get the effort out of first gear, settling on flatness when the material deserves more excitement.
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is another Universal catalog title that hasn't been rescanned for its Blu-ray debut. Age is apparent throughout the viewing experience, with filtering removing a lot of fine detail, leaving behind processed softness, which isn't welcome. Bank and house interiors aren't compelling, finding room expansiveness dulled, along with outdoor events, which don't provide a sharp look at lakeside encounters and city visits. Facial features are smoothed out some, missing organic appeal. Haloing is present. Colors are muted, offering slightly reddish skintones and flat primaries. More determined hues on dresses and store signage offer a bit more power, but still don't reach their full potential. Delineation isn't strong, with some frame information lost to solidification, especially when the action moves to the heist sequence, which makes use of limited lighting. Source is in fine condition, without elements of damage.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't exemplary, but offers a compelling overview of the suspense aspects of "The Real McCoy." Dialogue exchanges are compelling, capturing nuances in accents and performance intensity, finding a comfortable balance between Basinger's near-whispered performance and her much louder co-stars. Scoring is acceptable, presented with satisfactory instrumentation and presence, never crowding performances. Surrounds are mostly engaged with musical moods, pushing out the score to create a more circular listening experience. Modest separation is captured along the way. Atmospherics are adequate, isolating the marble interiors of the bank and the animal activity of Jack's compound. Sound effects are a little too soft, muting gunfire, and low-end is seldom engaged.
The actual heist in "The Real McCoy" is more of a waiting game with local security guards, dialing down typical suspense levels for this type of entertainment. Mulcahy also mutes his style, attacking the material without much cinematic flavoring, which this production desperately needs, finding Basinger, Stamp (an Englishman playing a southern gentleman), and Kilmer miscast, floundering in their respective roles. "The Real McCoy" follows through on complications, trying to stack tense escapes to locate a nail-biting ending, but the feature is better off dealing directly with challenges to Karen's freedom and ache for motherhood. It's one of the few subgenre offerings that weakens when it slips into vault infiltration mode, making more sense as a character study than a presentation of familiar thrills.
2002
Losing Game
1930
Warner Archive Collection
1933
2001
1948
2013
2012
2003
2007
2017
1947
Reissue
1968
2003
2000
1966
2018
90th Anniversary
1932
1932
1999
1996