Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Clyde Shelton is an upstanding family man whose wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a home invasion. When the killers are caught, Nick Rice, a hotshot Philadelphia prosecutor, is assigned to the case. Nick offers one of the suspects a light sentence in exchange for testifying against his accomplice. Fast forward ten years. The man who got away with murder is found dead and Clyde Shelton coolly admits his guilt. Then issues a warning to Nick: Either fix the flawed justice system that failed his family, or key players in the trial will die. Soon Shelton follows through on his threats, orchestrating from his jail cell a string of spectacularly diabolical assassinations that can be neither predicted nor prevented. Philadelphia is gripped with fear as Shelton's high-profile targets are slain one after another and the authorities are powerless to halt the terror. Only Nick can stop the killing, and to do so he must outwit this brilliant sociopath in a harrowing contest of wills in which even the smallest misstep means death. With his own family now in Shelton's crosshairs, Nick finds himself in a desperate race against time facing a deadly adversary who seems always to be one step ahead.

I wanted to catch this one in the theaters but didn’t get around to it. I’m a fan of the director and the principle actors and this one looks like it would be pretty exciting. The film was far better than my expectations with some great twists and lots of tension. The film is a bit more brutal than I was expecting, so those who shy away from heavy violence beware. Some of the themes of this film are similar to what we saw in “Taken”, but turned up a notch. Butler plays a government assassin whose family is murdered. Ten years later he decides to get his revenge on them, and the justice system that failed to provide the justice he felt they deserved. I loved the twists of the film, and the pacing, but the ending came up a bit short and seemed like a last minute idea that didn’t have the impact and thought of the rest of the film. Still a lot of fun though.

Anchor Bay delivers a great Blu-ray presentation for this one. The image is very detailed with outstanding fine object detail. Contrast levels are good with nice blacks and plenty of depth, and the image has a nice sense of dimension. The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack also delivers with some great low bass extension, plenty of body and great imaging across the main and surround soundstage.

Anchor Bay includes both the theatrical and uncut versions of the film. You also get a feature commentary, some behind the scenes footage, and trailers.

This was a solid but brutal thriller with plenty of thrills and twists. The presentation is solid making this one an easy recommendation!