Beatdown
(2010/TapOut/Lionsgate Blu-ray)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: C Feature: C
Mike
Gunther is a stunt man, documentarian of big budget commercial films and
character actor adding his name to the writer/directors of new dramatic product
from the TapOut fighting franchise. Beatdown (2010) is based on a story written by Sean
Patrick O’Reilly (see Circle Of Pain elsewhere on this site) and is a
formulaic tale with slight variances and more edge and toughness than most such
productions aimed at the intended audience.
Street
fighter Brandon (Rudy Youngblood) must leave his own city when his own brother
is killed and money organized criminals were owed goes missing. He gets involved with underground fighting
and that eventually leads to having to solve the original problem that caused
his departure in the first place. I
again did not buy much of the story, but this is made to showcase the fighting
and that is the only reason to watch, if that.
For fans only.
The 1080p
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image has some good shots going for it, but
also has many soft ones, motion blur and other issues that give away its HD
shoot, but some of the limits come from the chosen style. I was hoping this would be an improvement over
past TapOut Blu-rays, but alas it is not.
The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mix is better, but still does
not take advantage of the soundfield possibilities, which is uneven here. Extras include TapOut promos, Trailer
Gallery, Beatdown contest winner (didn’t know there was one), two making
of featurettes and audio commentary led by Gunther.
- Nicholas Sheffo
