Stiletto
(2008/First Look DVD)
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: D Feature: C
About every few months, a genre film comes along that is
so bad, instead of being another disposable disaster like so many we suffer
through, it becomes an unintentional howler and the latest to do so is the
amazingly wacky, graphic Nick Vallelonga crime tale Stiletto (2008)
about a female assassin (Stana Katic, who is not bad here actually) for Russian
Gangsters in the U.S. who just loves slashing, stabbing and killing her
targets. This is so over the top, the
point of no return is reached early.
I should start with a good cast, including Tom Berenger,
Michael Biehn, William Forsythe, Tom Sizemore, James Russo and a much too
wasted D. B. Sweeney. Add the other
lesser-known actors and this has some interesting potential. Instead, the clichés come on as fats as the
bullets, you get some laughably bad stereotypes and the way this “assassin”
goes after her victims is as inane as it is insane. Note how she loves to stab people in the
heart.
With some discipline and concentration, this could have
been a breakthrough of some kind, but instead, it is a hoot. Serious Gangster fans only need apply, that
is, for a not so serious time.
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is sadly soft throughout
and some shots are so soft that they look like analog video from years
ago. Motion blur just becomes too much
and color also suffers. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix is louder than it should be, even for being so aggressive. There are no extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
