The Courier - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Courier



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
I always wondered what became of Olga Kuryleno. She was such a stunning beauty in 007: Quantum of Solace, and more than fun in Oblivion and Hitman (as awful as Hitman was) as well. She was kind of a rising star in the first decade of the 21st century and then she suddenly faded out to doing DTV films and lesser known fare to keep her hired. Which is kind of a sad thing as I really liked her, and even though she wasn’t Meryl Streep in the acting department, she was more than capable than many others who are much more popular. A similar thing happened to Gary Oldman, in that he was a staple in cinema as playing a great leading man or quirky side character, but has been pumping out the DTV movies by the dozen the last 7 or 8 years. That being said, I have a weakness for DTV action movies (my continued watching of The Marine franchise pretty much solidifies that) and the trailer for The Courier kind of caught my attention. Sadly that attention wasn’t held very long, as The Courier is a turgidly bland affair that creates the cardinal sin of DTV movies. Not too hot, not horrible enough to laugh at, but firmly in the middle, which causes the viewer to just lose interest and forget about the movie by the time it’s halfway over.

Ezekial Manning (Gary Oldman) is one of the most powerful crime bosses in America. However, he’s taken down by the FBI and is getting ready to be put on trial for a murder that they can finally pin on him. However, the witness that is the key lynch pin for the entire operation gets attacked by one of Manning’s inside men on the job in an attempt to stifle the witness before he goes on trial. Be that as it may, Manning’s plan doesn’t exactly go as planned. The courier (Olga Kurylenko) who unwittingly delivered the device that was used to wipe out the Interpol agents protecting the witness is not just a simple courier. She’s an ex military special ops (aren’t they all) soldier who still has a bit of a conscience left in her.

Grabbing the witness (Amit Shah), she tries to make a getaway from the building, but is stopped by a group of mercenaries that are in Manning’s employ. Stuck in the parking garage, with only a pistol and her skill, the courier attempts to keep the whistle blower alive as she wages a one woman war against the mercs who are holding them in the concrete prison.

The Courier is a moderately well acted (for a DTV movie) action movie, but it’s not exactly very adept or suspenseful. The action is by the numbers and fairly generic, as is the entire premise. It’s really just a remake of The Hitman’s Bodyguard, just without Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson (ironically Gary Oldman was a villainous crime boss in that one as well). I will admit that some of the kills were pretty gory and nasty, and showed some inventiveness, but the movie itself is just so lukewarm and bland that you get bored with it REALLY fast.




Rating:

Rated R for strong violence including bloody images, and language throughout




Video:

Lionsgate’s 2.39:1 AVC encoded Blu-ray is quite pleasing if I do say so myself. It’s got a lot of digital shine to it, with tons of detail, even among all of the stifling darkness that the film is bathed in. Contrast is even, and the film’s teal color grading is not too aggressive. Black levels are paramount here and don’t waver in the slightest. Outside some VERY minuscule banding that crop up in some really dark shots, this is a really clean picture that is pretty much free of any major artifacting. Skin tones are evenly balanced and facial details are superb. You can see some of the creases and lines on Olga’s face from far away, and the little fibers and stitches on her black leather riding outfit are more than revealing. A very good transfer that holds up better than most Lionsgate DTV movies.








Audio:

The audio is pretty solid as well, delivering a nice surround experience that is aggressive and full of spice. Gunshots carry plenty of weight with them, and the surrounds are full of screaming motorcycle engines, hand to hand combat, and bullets flying all around. The score is full and rich, and the dialog evenly balanced with the high octane energy of the movie. It’s not going to win an award for most nuanced action track of the year, but the bass is powerful and the film’s sort of “one note” like feel is still more than adequate to do the job. All in all, a fun action track that is powerful and more than good for the majority of listeners.










Extras:

• Audio Commentary with Director/Writer/Executive Producer Zachary Adler & Producer/Writer/Composer James Edward Barker
• Trailer Galllery

Final Score: ​

The Courier is not a bad movie, but it’s not a good movie either. It falls into that cursed middle ground that is formed by being so generic and in the middle that it can’t seem to stand out from the rest of the crowd. Olga is very solid as the lead action star, but she’s constantly undercut by some pretty cringe worthy writing, and Gary Oldman just hams it up for about 10 minutes in the background. He’s not a real major player even though he’s an integral part of the story line. Audio and video are more than acceptable, but once again we’re left with minimal extras to watch. I hate to say skip it because I didn’t like the movie, but rather it’s just so generic and bland that I can’t see any appeal in watching it.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Olga Kurylenko, Gary Oldman, Alicia Agneson, Amit Shah, Greg Orvis, Craig Conway, William Moseley
Directed by: Zackary Adler
Written by: Zackary Adler, James Edward Barker
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 97 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: January 21st, 2020

Recommendation: Skip It

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Too bad this is a skip recommendation. Will skip it.