Motives 2 – Retribution (DVD-Video)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: C     Feature: C

 

 

I really like Vivica A. Fox and if anyone has the personality and popularity to have a successful straight-to-video franchise with a sense of class, it is she.  I missed the first Motives, but it was a surprise DVD hit and the sequel Motives 2 – Retribution (2007) does not just rest on the first hit.

 

Sometimes melodramatic, the combination of crime, drama and personal lives can be somewhat formulaic, but is done with a great cast, enthusiasm and energy that helps make this more watchable than you might think.  Yes, it is uneven and Fox steals every scene she is in (so what else is new?) but there is much talent getting a chance they deserve to perform and I wonder if and when we will see more of them.

 

The story picks up where a now-divorced, able-bodied Connie (Fox) has remarried, but when he Ex is slaughtered in prison, she is going to find out the truth no matter what it takes and finds herself in a race to uncover this truth with others who care and a few who want them stopped.

 

Besides reminding me of a few daytime soap operas, this actually reminded me of the kinds of self-contained paperback reads in the 1970s in particular that were efficient and worked in their own confines.  No wonder these programs are popular.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image was shot in digital HD and looks more stylized than you usually get for such a production, especially after we have seen so many bad ones.  Yes, detail is an issue, but this looks good for what it is.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is nothing great, but nicely-recorded dialogue helps.  Extras include a cast/crew audio commentary, making of featurette and deleted scenes.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo