Blu-ray Movie Reviews

From Producer Quentin Tarantino and Writer/Director Larry Bishop comes this lean, mean mayhem machine - fully loaded with bikers, babes, and booze. Michael Madsen, Eric Balfour and legendary "Easy Rider" Dennis Hopper are part of a wild motorcycle gang bent on avenging the death of one of their own. With Vinnie Jones as the crazed arrow-wielding rival gang leader, "Hell Ride" is a savagely enjoyable good-time where the women are hot, the bikes are even hotter, and the action never stops.

This one is definitely riding on the coat tails of the recent Tarantino/Rodriguez collaboration, Grindhouse. The film is chocked full of bad dialogue, silly plotlines and every excuse imaginable to get the women naked. Not that there is anything really wrong with that. Thankfully the movie doesn’t try to play like anything more substantial than what it is and the overall effect is pretty fun. Some of the editing early on makes the storyline a bit confusing as the characters are a bit tough to keep in place, but other than that this is a B-Movie through and through and enjoys every minute of it.

The HD video presentation is quite strong thanks to the wonderfully detailed photography. For a second I thought this could have been actually shot with HD cameras but as the film progresses you get a sense of the natural filming process through the grain structure. Fine detail is exquisite at times and thankfully the creators didn’t rely heavily on stylization. Contrast is exaggerated quite a bit but colors are kept in balance and digital effects are rarely used. I did notice some very slight ringing on occasion but otherwise this is a very nice HD transfer.

The soundtrack is classic Tarantino and loaded with cool western themes and moody guitar riffs reminiscent of the Kill Bill series. Dynamics are pumped a bit and you’ll feel every gunshot throughout. Dialogue is balanced perfectly within the mix and the soundstage has a nice open feel to it. Overall the soundtrack is exactly what I would have expected from this type of feel and ends up being a lot of fun.

Extras include a feature commentary with the director and his DP. You also get some promo style featurettes that look at the film’s production and cast members (ladies included). Madsen also provides a somewhat funny production diary for a behind the scenes look on the set. The trailer is also included.

While this film won’t be winning any awards anytime soon it excels at being the cheesy action romp it set out to be. If you love grindhouse cinema, it may float your boat. Dimension has done a great job with the presentation so fans will be pleased.