Mercy Streets (2000/Sony DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: D Feature: D
In one of
the goofiest gangster releases we have seen in years, Joe Gunn’s Mercy Streets (2000) has co-producer
David A.R. White playing dual roles as twin brothers in performances with
virtually no difference. One is the bad
crime brother, the other the good priest in a formula double cross story; the
kind that usually accompanies bad tales where an actor plays dual roles. This usually does not work, but this is one
of the worst examples you will see and a practical guide on how not to do this.
Eric
Roberts and Stacy Keach are the two names in supporting roles, but this has
little energy and point, save to lecture about their version of faith. It is weak, silly, dumb, badly acted, has
really bad dialogue and the action is dull.
Put this out of its mercy and skip it.
The letterboxed
1.85 X 1 image is weak and soft despite supposedly being shot on film and not
too well I might ad. This is flatly
realized and nothing ever impresses.
Editing is also weak. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo mix is also weak with poorly recorded dialogue and uneven
sound design. Extras include a feature
length director audio commentary, a lame making of featurette and rightly cut
deleted scenes similar to the actual final release.
- Nicholas Sheffo
