Joshua Tree - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Joshua Tree



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
Arrow has given us a nice dose of 80s and 90s fun this month with a 5-film collection of some forgotten action films from the days of the video store craze. Some good, some bad, but all of them fun. And to start out off the collection, let's go for one of my favorite 80s action starts in Joshua Tree.

Oh man. I remember in the late 90s being fully steeped in the world of 80s and 90s action movies (martial artist films in particular) and came across a VHS copy of a little film called Army of One, starring Dolph Lundgren. Back then as a 16 year old I thought this was the single coolest film to have ever filmed, as there were guns, cars, explosions, and hot women. What more could a red-blooded teen want? Fast forward to 2013, and I picked up the 2013 Blu-ray to relive the highs of my childhood, only to find out that it didn’t exactly hold up to my 16-year-old expectations. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the movie to death, but that perfect action movie that I remembered from 1998 was filled with plot holes, cheesy dialog, and a Stockholm Syndrome romance that just doesn’t hold up when you actually look at it critically. But who cares, Dolph was punching people in the face, shooting them while flying through the air in slow motion, and Kristian Alfonso is UNBELIEVABLY hot in this puppy. So, frankly, I don’t care about the seams in the film’s plot armor!

Driver Wellman Anthony Santee (Dolph Lundgren) and his partner Eddie (Ken Foree) are on a job when Eddie gets gunned down by a corrupt cop, and Santee is blamed not only for his murder, but for the cop’s murder as well. Sent up state to serve 20-35 years for murder, Santee gets his chance to escape when the guards turn out to be paid off to kill him. Cracking a few skulls, the convict sneaks over to a local desert gas station, where he grabs a ride and a hostage in the form of deputy Rita Marek, who keeps her identity from Santee in hopes of gaining the upper hand.

But Santee is not here just to escape. He wants revenge on the man who put him away, but it unfortunately comes with complications. It turns out that Santee was working for Police Lt. Frank Severence (George Segal), smuggling high-profile stolen automobiles out of the country. And with his back turned to Santee’s plight, the only way the driver can get back is by setting a trap for Severence and putting his own life on the line to get a crack at him.

Joshua Tree (or Army of One for the extended cut that is included in this set as well) is a goofy bit of 90s fun that feels more like the tail end of the 80s action craze rather than a 90s action flick. It’s got the slow-motion gun fights, the martial arts kicks to the chest, and LOTS of explosions in the second half of the film. But it does rely on the faster-paced and frenetic motion of films like Speed or Chain Reaction. Dolph plays Santee well, using his boyish good looks and gigantic muscular frame to stand out as the likable guy who’s been set up. Sadly, the rest of the movie is filled with every cliché under the moon, with Kristian Alfonso turning Rita into a one note sex pot who is just there for the eye candy (torn crop top, tight 90s jeans, the “bow chika bow wow” music when she has to strip). But George Segal is absolutely hilarious as Severence. He hams things up to level 11, acting as an unhinged Jack Gallo from Just Shoot Me, just with a mustache and killing cops. It adds a sort of unhinged fun to the whole production, with Dolph playing it serious and straight, while Segal is having a ball playing a villain.

All of those complaints aside, Joshua Tree is a fun film that just oozes early 90s cheese. Lots of guns, tons of hot midriff, and cars decked out with fiberglass panels to make them appear like they’re actually $100,000 Italian sports cars. Plus, we get the extended unrated cut that was known as Army of One on VHS and DVD. Something that the 2013 Shout! Studios disc from 2013 didn’t have. I’m not going to say that this is the best 90s action film ever made, but I have a soft spot for this bit of 90s slop that just somehow manages to override my logic centers whenever I see all of the flaws in it. When I mean “they don’t make em like they used to”, I get why. But I still miss them.




Rating: Rated R for strong violence, language, and some sexuality




Video:
The last time Joshua Tree got a domestic Blu-ray release was back in 2013 for its 20th anniversary, and it came out with so-so image quality in a combo pack that was never that great to begin with (even the DVD release looked rather grungy). Struck from an aging master, it had a lot to improve, and luckily for us, Arrow does just that. According to the press info, Joshua Tree/Army of One was scanned at 4K resolution at Fotokem from the OCN, then graded and restored in 2K at Dragon Post Production for the master.

The results speak for themselves, as this is the best the film has ever looked in my entire time viewing the VHS, the DVD, the Blu-ray, and now this updated Blu-ray (I still would have killed to have seen this in 4K, especially since it was scanned at 4K). The flick is very much a low-budget 90s film, with a heavy red push and some optical shots that can look soft, with certain shots showing massive grain spikes. That being said, visual clarity is generally quite good, with great detail levels (almost too much, as you can see the obvious wire harness on Dolph when he’s hanging from the ledge, or the flexing of the fiberglass frame over a stock car trying to imitate a Ferrari). Blacks are nice, though they do get a bit milky sometimes, and colors are a ruddy and rich. It’s not perfect, but it looks very nice for what it is, and a substantial upgrade over the Shout! Studios Blu-ray 13 years ago.


Audio:
Featuring a 2.0 LPCM mix for both cuts of the film, the audio is rather nice. Strangely enough, they decided not to include the home theater 5.1 mix that Shout! Studios had on their Blu-ray (which likely stemmed from the DVD mix back in the early 2000s), but I’m not going to complain too much, as Joshua Tree has never exactly been a powerhouse in the audio department, even on that 5.1 mix. It naturally isn’t as spacious without the LFE and surround channels, but the 2.0 mix is very solid, replicating dialogue consistently and having some nice low end in some of the battles. Again, it has some source limitations, but this was a very pleasing 2.0 mix all the way around.


Extras:
• Joshua Tree (Theatrical Cut)
• Army of One (Extended Cut)
• Commentary by Vic & Andy Armstrong
• Vic Armstrong on Joshua Tree
• A Look Back at Joshua Tree
• Alternate Ending with Commentary
• Vic Armstrong on His Career
• Andy Armstrong on His Career
• Original Trailer
• Stills Gallery

Final Score: ​

Joshua Tree (and its extended, more brutal cut, Army of One) is a fun flick despite being an absolute BB-tierfilm from the 90s. It’s just goofy action fun in ways that today’s films can’t seem to replicate. Dolph was a superstar at that point, and while he still delved into the DTV and llow-budgettheatrical releases like this one, he had that sense of panache and style that made him a legend in the 80s and 90s. The movie itself is pure Taco Bell at 2:00 A.M. trash, but we all know that at 2:00 A.M. you still are ordering 3 gordita crunches, a bean burrito, and a Baja Blast Mountain Dew, and you’re going to like it too. Arrow’s new release not only restores the Army of One extended cut, but gives us a good chunk of extras as well, making this the most complete version to date, and the new remaster makes everything look that much better. About the only thing “lost” from the Shout! Studios Blu-ray is the 5.1 DTS-HD MA home theater mix that we had since the DVD days. Fun watch in this collection.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Dolph Lundgren, George Segal, Kristian Alfonso, Geoffrey Lewes, Matt Battaglia
Directed by: Vic Armstrong
Written by: Steven Pressfield
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: LPCM 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Arrow
Rated: R
Runtime: 102 Minutes (Joshua Tree) / 106 Minutes (Army of One)
Blu-ray Release Date: October 27th, 2026

Recommendation: Fun Watch