The Heineken Kidnapping (2011/MPI Blu-ray)/6 Bullets (2012/Sony DVD)
Picture: B-/C Sound: B-/C+ Extras: C/C- Films: C+/D
Kidnapping
and people in jeopardy have become more and more about violence and plot points
instead of storytelling, as the following releases sadly show.
With
Rutger Hauer perfect for the title role, Maarten Treurniet’s The Heineken Kidnapping (2011) is based
on the sometimes-discussed incident where the owner and boss of the
internationally successful beer company that bares his family name was
kidnapped for money. Frederick Heineken
apparently was not as security conscious as he should have been if the film is
correct. He gets nabbed by a group of
young men who want the money and have at least some anti-Capitalist leanings,
but either they were faint or the screenplay tones them down.
I like
the cast, locations, performances and the pace is not bad, plus it is not a
stuck-in-a-kidnapping film to its credit, but when the story turns in new
directions, the screenplay does not know how to make the transition, what it
wants to say and the conclusion is problematic, a little lame (we have seen
this before) and is a bit of a dud.
Otherwise, it is worth a look if you are interested (for Hauer if
nothing else), but I was a little disappointed and felt there were more than a
few missed opportunities. Extras include
a trailer and behind the scenes featurette.
As much as that film somewhat trivialized some aspects of that story, the new
Jean-Claude Van Damme disaster, Ernie Barbarash’s 6 Bullets (2012) once popular martial arts star playing some kind
of older mercenary hired by a rich man to have his kidnapped daughter
saved. This starts out weak, quickly
becomes a child-in-jeopardy disaster and drowns in its own cynicism and exploitation
in the worst way.
This is
one of the worst things I have ever seen Van Damme in and that says
something. A few points are borderline
offensive in the worst way and I did not think the makers had his character
even seem to have the energy or heart & soul to save himself let alone an
innocent girl, who in the “scheme” of the story is one of many exploited girls
worldwide and it wallows on the point so much it tends to almost celebrate
it. Just awful, previews for better Sony
releases are the only extra.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Heineken is stylized down a bit throughout, holding back its full
performance potential, but there are some nice shots, but also some that are
softer than I would have liked throughout.
Color is not bad, but is limited too often. The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on
Bullets is another of those sloppy
HD shoots with color issues, motion blur and shaky camerawork that makes
everything worse, so it can be a trying viewing. Be prepared if you dare to try and sit
through it.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Heineken is somewhat dialogue-based and can be bit towards the
front speakers limiting a consistent soundfield, but it is well-recorded and
warmer than if it were in a lossy codec like the Dolby Digital 5.1 on Bullets, which is quiet often (so we
can get serious about people being exploited, we gather) with surrounds kicking
in at times, but it is not a great mix.
- Nicholas Sheffo
