5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A detective pushed beyond his limits will stop at nothing for vengeance. When his wife is killed by a criminal that he put away, Mason, a hard-nosed detective, deliberately gets arrested in order to get revenge.
Starring: Dean Cain, Michael Eklund, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Adrian Holmes, Kyra ZagorskyAction | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Michael Eklund, who plays a nefarious warden in this prison revenge drama, more than adequately sums up the entire film in an interview appended to this Blu-ray as a supplement. “Vendetta,” he intones with a certain amount of wry humor. “The title pretty much says it all.” That’s a bit of an understatement, it turns out, for if there is an unpredictable element in Vendetta, it’s simply that the film turns out to be better than it has any right to be, at least considering its absolutely formulaic plot and by the numbers machinations. Dean Cain portrays Mason Danvers, a hard working cop who, in the film’s completely mechanical opening sequence, tracks down a vicious thug named Victor Abbott (Paul Donald Wight, Jr., here exploiting his WWE moniker The Big Show). Abbott is brought to justice, at least momentarily, but in yet another unoriginal development, is let go on a technicality, whereupon the insanely large predator makes a beeline for Danvers’ pregnant wife and brutally murders her. That attack at least guarantees Abbott will be jailed for a considerably longer time than his first stint, but it of course just as predictably leaves Danvers a shell of his former self. Some passing substance abuse only further roils Danvers’ psychological waters, until the former good guy seems to be segueing over to his veritable dark side. Need it even be mentioned that Danvers decides to take matters into his own hands (in more ways than one), ultimately leading to his own arrest and imprisonment in the same corrupt facility where Abbott is already housed?
Vendetta is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films and WWE Studios with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is an often abundantly sharp and well detailed looking presentation, one which benefits from an absence of ubiquitous color grading and which tends to exploit a more naturalistic palette. Detail and fine detail are both excellent and at times exceptional, offering up close and personal looks at elements like Cain's increasingly battered face. There have been a few bells and whistles appended to the image in post, including a couple of "distressed" sequences which minimally limit fine detail. Contrast is consistent and helps the film to weather some segues from bright exterior lighting conditions to the shadowy interiors of the prison.
Vendetta's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 explodes into visceral life during some of the set pieces, whether those involve guns or "simpler" weapons like "brass knuckles", offering good discrete channelization of various effects and some forceful LFE at various moments. Dialogue and The Newton Brothers' propulsive score are also presented cleanly and clearly with excellent prioritization. Fidelity is fine throughout this presentation, and dynamic range very wide in a problem free environment.
There's nothing even remotely surprising about most (if not all) of Vendetta, but the film works up considerable momentum based solely on the intensity of the performances from Cain and The Big Show. While resolutely predictable in terms of its overall plot mechanics, the film is briskly paced and some of the kill scenes are crazily inventive, adding a kind of sly winking subtext to what is ultimately a series of set pieces. Technical merits are generally strong and with certain caveats noted, Vendetta comes Recommended.
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