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SYNOPSIS:
Money changes everything, at least that's what Duke and Amber
would like to believe - especially after Duke, a hapless Iraq
War vet stumbles onto a drug deal turned deadly and finds
a duffel bag stuffed with dirty money. After stopping for
a quickie wedding, Duke and Amber hit the road to start the
life they've always dreamed about. The dream quickly turns
into a nightmare when Pollen, a corrupt DEA agent comes to
reclaim what he believes is rightfully his. The chase begins
with non-stop, hair-raising action as Duke and Amber are forced
to outwit the increasingly crazed Pollen - and fight for their
very lives.
MOVIE
REVIEW
If a survey
is conducted, I would like to know how many folks who picked
up this
DVD, did so because of Christian Slater. After all, it's been
a while since we last
saw him on the big screen, and wonder if his fans (if any
are still left) would
buy/rent this in a heartbeat, just by appreciating his mug
and his name on the
cover.
However,
this time round he plays a corrupt DEA agent, not the usual
heroic roles that we've come to know him for. He and his chums
have got some serious corrupt issues and putting themselves
into hot soup by having evidence walk out of the evidence
room, which includes a bag full of greenbacks. To a finder
with keeper morals like Duke (Brian Geraghty), an odd job
labourer on parole, a bagful of cash is a godsend, and off
he goes packing with his girlfriend Amber (Jenna Dewan, from
the original Step Up) to live the goodlife, something which
they always dream about
as they struggle from day to day.
So
begins a cat and mouse chase, one group who's adamant in getting
their backsides covered, while the other oblivious to what
trouble with a capital T is in store for them, ruining their
honeymoon vacation in Las Vegas. But don't expect something
as cerebral or chilling as in No Country for Old Man, which
also includes a killer out to retrieve a bag of cash. This
one plays out in more straightforward fashion without any
twists or turns, and Christian Slater behaves in over the
top campy fashion rather than bone-chillingly menacing.
The
action's pretty plain, and the dialogue laced with plenty
of cheese and rather
blah conversations. The late introduction of a cop duo suspicious
of the events that unfolded, also failed to do anything but
to add some unnecessary assistance to wrap things up for the
finale. Thankfully though, this is a rather short movie, and
doesn't prolong your misery should you decide to be gung-ho
and take the plunge in watching something quite mediocre.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
A whopping 17 deleted scenes including the alternate
ending, get stuffed into this DVD. Running a total of slightly
over 17 minutes, you have the option to watch them all, or
watch them individually. Presented in letterboxed format,
some of the scenes are not cleaned up in post production,
and no English subtitles are available here. Sieving through
the scenes, you'd begin to understand the power of editing,
where the shifting of scenes around to cater to what was taken
out, can still tell a rather coherent story.
Other than that, trailers are provided for Vantage Point,
Gabriel, and the upcoming CG animated movie Resident Evil:
Degeneration.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Fair
visual presentation in anamorphic widescreen without any obvious
blemish, and the scenes that make up the movie doesn't really
push the audio presentation in Dolby Digital 5.1. You have
the option though of selecting either the original English
track, or the dubbed version in Spanish, Portuguese or Thai.
MOVIE
RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Stefan Shih
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