Reprisal - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Reprisal

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
There used to be a time when Bruce Willis’s face was plastered all over the cover of a film when we’d all get excited about the Die Hard star being there. Unfortunately Willis has gone the way of John Cusack, Seagal, Cuba Gooding Jr., and countless other big name actors who have just given up all semblance of effort in their films. In all honesty, this isn’t a Bruce Willis film. Willis is in the movie for all of about 15 minutes (at most), and while he does kind of play an important backup character, the movie isn’t even about him. Instead it stars Frank Grillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Purge sequels) as the main star (along with our very obvious villain, played by Jonathan Schaech, who’s most notable role is Jonah Hex in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow).

Reprisal is a play by the numbers action thriller, and got TROUNCED during it’s theatrical run (another movie that was in and out of theaters in a month). I was really expecting an excruciating experience by all of the forum and critical chatter, but while the movie really is rather predictable and kind of bland, I didn’t think it was anywhere NEAR as bad as reports were labeling it. Sure, the villain’s main goals were muddled (there’s this whole thing about him having a delirious father, and hints of a deeper plan, but all we’re privy to is a basic “stealing money for no reason” story line on screen), but the action was pretty decently choreographed (besides a really shaky cam’d shootout between the police and the villain over an armored car), and Frank Grillo plays a tough guy persona enough to make his face off between the villain at the end believable.

The basic premise of the film is pretty simple. Frank Grillo is Jacob, a bank manager for a ritzy bank who is going through some hard times. His diabetic daughter is in need of constant care, while his financial status seems a bit shaky with all of their medical problems. To make matters worse his bank is robbed by a masked man who makes off with a hundreds of thousands of dollars, leaving Jacob in a bit of a shock. While he’s being investigated for an inside job, Jacob is left to wonder just what happened and deal with the PTSD after his ordeal. His only solace is going over the details of the robbery with his neighbor (and ex police officer) friend James (Bruce Willis) and seeing if they can come up with a pattern that the FBI and local PD’s can’t see. Low and behold a pattern is found and Jacob is able to track the villain down to his next heist. Calling in the cops and hoping for the best, the bank manager sees an opportunity and takes it. Following the masked man to his lair, he finds the money and takes it, only to find out that taking it was the worst mistake he could have made.

Reprisal is a fairly basic and bland movie. Had I not been told by one of my Lionsgate contacts that this was shown theatrically (limited in scope, which would explain why I didn’t see it), I would have totally thought this was another straight to video movie like many of Bruce Willis’s recent attempts have been (really hoping he brings his A game for the upcoming M. Night Shamalamadingdong film Glass). The plot, the pacing, the budget, the camerawork, it all screams DTV to me. The villain’s motives are shadowy and seem truncated (almost makes me wonder if more of his back story was left on the cutting room floor. The hint at deeper motivations, but those avenues are just left dangling), and the action itself was definitely shot on the cheap. However, the tough guy act of Jonathon Schaech and Frank Grillo make for a decently thrilling ride. Willis phones it in (he looks tired as he always does), but he does give a bit more effort than his usual DTV flicks that he’s been churning out lately.




Rating:

Rated R for violence and language




Video:

Lionsgate’s 1.85:1 AVC encoded Blu-ray follows Mike’s rule of 4 (meaning a very solid audio and video presentation, with good “4/5” ratings across the board), giving us a stable digitally shot image. The film’s looks is mostly neutral, but it does get the standard blue and gold color grading during different location switches. There’s some digital noise, a bit of a smeary look in the dark, and some mild crush, but these are fleeting issues that only pop up and vanish quickly. Overall clarity is well done, with the little blood squibs and facial grime showing up well, even under quick motion. Blacks are generally revealing, but most of the artifacting that I mentioned above shows up in the darker scenes. It’s an overall impressive picture with a few minor quibbles to keep it from being demo worthy. A solid digitally shot flick with little in the way of flashiness.







Audio:

The lone 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is just like the video. It’s powerful, aggressive, well done, but never tries to stretch the limitations of the 5.1 experience. Right off the bat we’re let into the fact that this mix likes to use a very bass heavy approach. The masked bank robber lets loose with a volley of 5.56 fire with his carbine with a massive shockwaves being sent through the listening area. It’s loud, deep and pounds away throughout the film with a typical “tense” score and some great gunfire moments that really bring out the rip roaring low end. Vocals are crisp and clean, located up front and the surrounds get a decent amount of activity with the car chases and action scenes. Otherwise it tends to be a bit focused in the front of the room for those non action oriented bits. A good track that isn’t demo worthy, but does everything well enough to be impressive.




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Extras:

• Trailer Gallery
• Cast/Crew Interviews
• Making Reprisal

Final Score: ​

Honestly, I didn’t have a bad time with Reprisal. It’s not a GREAT film, but it’s nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. Basically a moderately entertaining flick that fills in all of the check boxes for a basic thriller, but doesn’t really do much to exceed expectations. The action is solid, the characters likable (or unlikable if you’re the villain) with Bruce exhibiting a bit more punch and energy than his normally vapid stare (not as good as Death Wish, but definitely better than Marauders). Lionsgate’s audio and video specs are solid, following Mike’s “rule of 4”, but naturally there’s not a whole lot of extras. Maybe worth it as a lazy Friday night rental.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Bruce Willis, Frank Grillo, Jonathan Schaech
Directed by: Brian A. Miller
Written by: Bryce Hammons
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 89 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 16th 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Moderate Rental

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will check it out once available on prime/netflix for a lazy weekend.

 

[Todd Anderson]

First line of the review really resonates with me.