Synopsis
Con man Alex McArthur joins up with brutal thug Coolio and computer genius DanielBaldwin in one of those “can’t miss” schemes: kidnap actress Jenya Lano and force her to havesex in a pay-per-view Internet session. The kidnapping goes well, but frictions between the triothreaten the alliance, and all is not as it appears.
Easily one of the more tasteless premises for a thriller in recent years, and the film showslittle awareness of its own sleaziness. But then, the p…emise is also completely preposterous (ourworld-famous actress is also broke and desperate for parts, so why would we believe she ispopular enough to generate millions of dollars by doing the nasty on-line?). The plot twists aren’tparticularly interesting, and the climax is boringly familiar.
Audio
Both 2.0 and 5.1 options are present. The surround effects are largely confined to the score –there just isn’t that much by way of environmental sound design going on. As for the music,though it keeps the rear speakers active, it is a bit too rear heavy, unbalancing the effectsomewhat. There is also a bit of buzz on the dialogue.
Video
The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer has good colours, and the close-ups are sharp(one is very aware of Lano’s startling blue eyes, and of how bloodshot Baldwin’s are). There issome horizontal break-up of the picture, however, and the long shots tend to be a bit soft.
Special Features
Director Mark L. Lester (Commando) and producer Dana Dubovsky provide thecommentary. They do tend to describe what we are obviously seeing a bit too much, andDubovsky is a more interesting host than the director. Other than this, click on the Lions Gatelogo for trailers for the feature, Prey for Rock & Roll and Shattered Glass. Themenu’s intro and main screen are animated and scored.
Closing Thoughts
Standard issues DTV thriller fodder. Just another title taking up space on the shelves.
Special Features List
- Audio Commentary
- Trailers
