Blu-ray Movie Reviews

In Ned Cruz, iconic screen legend Antonio Banderas brings to life a detective as smart as he is tough, who in his search for a missing stripper, goes up against determined cops, a brawling prizefighter, and, quite possibly, the end of the world as we know it.

Stylization is the name of the game with this Blu-ray release. Few films have had quite so much color work done as this one with major tweaking done to the color palette of the film. You see obvious oversaturation and plenty of the infamous teal/orange workings here. Fine detail is still quite good though and depth holds up well. I did notice some very minor banding from time to time and a hint of edge enhancement, but given all the obvious post production visual work I’m surprised there isn’t more. The DTS soundtrack is good with a nice sense of ambiance but never really reaches out and grabs you. Surrounds are used a bit sparingly and holosonics are limited. Dialogue is recorded well though and the main soundstage gets the job done for the most part.

Extras include a feature commentary with the director and a short making-of feature. You also get some alternate scenes.

Despite the rather impressive cast and interesting film noir twist, this one ultimately was a bit ho hum. It starts off interesting enough but my interest starting waning about half way through. The twists just weren’t as interesting by then and the dialogue started getting tedious. I did like the style of the film though and Anchor Bay’s presentation is solid. Still I don’t think I could recommend anything more than a rental for this one.