The Tax Collector Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		1.5

The Tax Collector Blu-ray Movie Review

4/15, never forget.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 13, 2020

No stranger to intense gang dramas, writer/director David Ayer returns with The Tax Collector, a willy uneven but viscerally potent production with an abbreviated supporting performance by Shia LaBeouf. Like Dark Blue and Harsh Times, it feels gritty and authentic enough but never even reaches those modest heights, struggling to impress with a connect-the-dots plot that's rife with clichés, narrative shortcuts, and one of the most laughably over-the-top bad guys in recent memory. Yet The Tax Collector speeds along quickly enough and is perhaps inoffensively passable for the right audience, many of whom will lap up its graphic bloodshed and base-level dramatic thrills.

The story mostly follows David Cuevas (Bobby Soto), an intensely religious man who puts family first...at least when he's not "collecting taxes" for gang boss Wizard (Jimmy Smits) with his health-obsessed loose cannon of a partner, Creeper (Shia LaBeouf). Standard mob rules apply here: the dynamic duo skims off of what local gangs make for their own shady activity, and David's wife Alexis (Cinthya Carmona) is in on it too. When their most recent collection comes up $20,000 short, David and Creeper are confronted by Wizard's gang rival Conejo (Jose Martin), a major power with connections to a Mexican drug cartel and serious delusions of grandeur. Once David refuses to literally kiss Conejo's rings, things get ugly fast and it's not long before his wife and daughters are caught in the crossfire.

For a full write-up, please see my separate review of the 4K/Blu-ray Steelbook which, for now, is exclusive to Best Buy. This standard Blu-ray edition is perfectly fine if you haven't moved on to 4K yet or aren't a packaging collector.

The Tax Collector Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Though it's available as a 4K edition, The Tax Collector arrives on Blu-ray with a perfectly satisfying 1080p transfer that captures its low-lit visuals nicely. The film's down-and-dirty atmosphere features good shadow detail, a nicely-saturated (but mostly muted) color palette, and respectable image detail depending on lighting conditions. Depth is pretty limited at times but there are a few nice focus pulls and other techniques that elevate the compositions to greater heights. As mentioned in my other review, The Tax Collector appears to be an all-digital production with occasional amounts of added grain, all of which looks more natural than noisy thanks to the Blu-ray's solid compression -- only a few stray moments of mild banding could be spotted, mostly on harsher gradients like extremely bright light sources.

The Tax Collector Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix features crisp dialogue and a strong dynamic range, treating quiet conversations and action sequences with equal care. Gunfire and explosions pack a reasonably hefty punch, as does Michael Yezerski's original score. Most of the film plays it straight with channel separation and atmosphere, although at least one late sequence aims for a more stylized atmosphere with stronger resonance that's suitably disorienting. Optional subtitles are helpfully included in three flavors: English for only Spanish dialogue, Spanish for only English dialogue, and English for everything (including some sign language, which is actually kind of important to the plot.)

The Tax Collector Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This release arrives in a standard keepcase with a matching slipcover, no inserts, and minimal on-disc extras.

• Deleted Scenes (12:21) - "Extended Opening", "Tax Collection Threat", and "Chat with Sensei". All three are presented in 1080p and DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio but, unlike the film, have no optional subtitles.

The Tax Collector Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Though not without a few memorable moments, David Ayer's The Tax Collector is a hot mess -- even those attracted to its bloodshed and base-level thrills will notice problems along the way. Several years past its shelf life, it's the kind of testosterone-fueled movie Ayer should have outgrown by now... but hopefully will in the near future. RLJ's Blu-ray has solid A/V specs but minimal bonus features (and its lower price tag makes it the better blind buy option), whereas the Best Buy-exclusive 4K/Blu-ray Steelbook offers a better transfer and packaging for established fans.