Death Warrant - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Death Warrant

Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
The 90s was a glorious time for action movies. And while they never could quite reach the same heights as the 80s, they were still some of the best we’ve ever seen. And in this decade we were about to see the rise of Jean-Claude Van Damme to become the the muscles from Brussels that we all watched to death back in the day. Coming off of the instant successes of Bloodsport and Kickboxer, Van Damme was given more leeway with his film projects, and was shifting over to non tournament style movies to ply his spin kicks and Belgian charm. Written by David Goyer, Death Warrant acts as the spark that sort of catapulted him from being a niche martial arts dude, to being a bankable action star who would star in a variety of different films. And while Death Warrant has never been his best work, it is one that I hold dear having owned the VHS, two DVDs, the Blu-ray, the Scorpion releasing Blu-ray, and now this 4K UHD set.

Louis Burke (Van Damme) is a Canadian cop who transferred to L.A. hunting a serial killer known as “The Sandman” (Patrick Kilpatrick) ends up capturing his man, only to be sent into an undercover assignment immediately afterwards. His superiors want him to catch a serial killer within Harrison State Prison. Guys are ending up dead with a spike in the back of their heads, and the warden and his men are under suspicion. Going in completely without backup, Burke is given a rap sheet to sell the fact that he’s a crook, and let loose to figure out what’s going on. But that soon means he has to fight off junkies, rival gangs, and each step he takes to finding out who the killer is leads him towards uncertain doom.

What makes Death Warrant fascinating is not that it’s just another Van Damme film during his early days, but rather this was written by a baby faced David Goyer, who was working on this as first viable produced screenplay. And while Goyer is most notable for high profile action movies like Batman & Robin, Batman Begins, Blade Trinity, this one feels the most authentic and “pure”, work to date. You can tell he was really putting his heart and soul into the production, with high octane fights, and that sort of gritty, exploitation style film making for the prison sequences. Nothing is ever too wild, but he dabbles in the same tone as those 1970s prison exploitation films where everything is over the top, the guards are disgusting sleaze bags, and the hero has to get his hands dirty to get out. It’s simply FUN. Something that I feel we’ve lost sight of over the years.

Overall, Death Warrant is a fun bit of Van Damme’s past that proved he could work outside of the martial arts tournament “arena”, so to speak, and work as a viable action star for the public. Ironically when I was a teenager, Death Warrant was one of my least liked Van Damme films. Mostly because didn’t feature martial arts villains, as I was more interested in his films like Bloodsport or Kickboxer. “The Sandsman” not being a huge martial arts villain at the end always rubbed me the wrong way, but after getting older I changed my perspective. There’s plenty of Van Damme follow through round kicks, and side kicks to keep the action going, and the plot is smartly tight and clean. It doesn’t delve too deeply into the absurd, but keeps Burke’s nose to the grind stone trying to catch the killer. I will say this though, the intimated sex scene with his handler is downright hilarious 1980s and 90s motif that is luckily falling out of favor. That insane need to put every hunky leading man in bed with the “obviously hot for him” female protagonist just cuz they wanted to amp up his sex appeal image.




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

Looking up info on the film and looking on the back reveals that this is a “2HD” (I’m GUESSING that means a 4K restoration), 16 bit scan from the OCN for this 4K remaster. And like many MVD titles from this era, it looks solid. Maybe not awesome, but the previous Blu-ray release of Death Warrant via MGM was not exactly a looker either. This is that quintessential cheap 90s feel, with a slightly ruddy push and a good amount of warmth to it. Fine details range from good to great, with small grain spikes and some black crush keeping it from being totally amazing. Sometimes the color palette is nice and heavy teal blue, while other times we can go from orange, to green to red and back again. The HDR isn’t really noticeable here in terms of the colors, but it does add some punch to the black levels, and takes away some of the excessive crush I noticed on the Blu-ray included in this set (also from the same new master).








Audio:

Comparing against the MGM Blu-ray in my collection, the LPCM 2.0 track is not that different than the 2.0 DTS-HD MA track found on the old Blu-ray. Differences are slight, with maybe a hotter push on the DTS-HD MA track in terms of volume level, but upon level matching them I could barely tell them apart. Dialog is strong and fully present in the front of the room, but these early 90s films of Van Damme’s were never sonic power houses to begin with. Gary Chang’s score is quite impressive, and impacts from blows have some moderate weight in the mid range of the LFE from the mains. Maybe won’t blow your skirt up in excitement, but certainly solid enough from a technical standpoint.

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Extras:

Disc One: 4K UHD

• Audio Commentary by Director Deran Sarafian

Disc Two: Blu-ray

• Audio Commentary by Director Deran Sarafian
• Interview with actor Patrick Kilpatrick
• Interview with actor Art LaFleur
• "Defender of Death: Memories of a Van Damme Classics with Cynthia Gibb" interview (HD, 35:07)
• Photo Gallery
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Jean-Claude Van Damme Trailer gallery including Lionheart, Black Eagle, Knock Off, Double Impact
• Audio: LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English Subtitles
• Collectible Death Warrant "4K LaserVision" Mini-Poster
• Reversible Cover Art

Final Score: ​

Death Warrant was better than it should have been, but never as great as some of Van Damme’s later works like Timecop or even Maximum Risk. But there are some solid fight scenes throughout, and Goyer’s writing is solid considering it was his first produced screenplay. The new 4K disc from MVD looks and sounds solid, with some moderate extras on board as well. Solid thumbs up from this Van Dammage fan


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Robert Guillaume, Cynthia Gibb, Patrick Kilpatrick
Directed by: Deran Sarafin
Written by: David S. Goyer
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: LPCM Mono 2.0
Subtitles: English
Studio: MVD
Rated: R
Runtime: 89 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: August 11th, 2026

Recommendation: Recommended