No Way Back (1996/Sony Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C- Film: B-
As
possibly an anecdote to his rough convincing performance as a Nazi Skinhead in Romper Stomper, Russell Crowe plays a
police detective in Frank A. Cappello’s New York thriller No Way Back, an amusing, sometimes unintentionally funny revenge
thriller about a cop whose sing operation backfires so badly that he might lose
his job. That sequence alone is one you
have to see to believe, with shades of the first Lethal Weapon.
Crowe
gives another good acting performance, nearly stealing every scene he is in,
dealing with two organized crime factions, the FBI, his own people and other
factors that keep the 91 minutes just short enough not to stretch things out. Despite its flaws, it is just competent
enough to revisit and may have aged awkwardly (from what it rips off to being a
pre-9/11 film), but Helen Slater (Supergirl,
The Legend Of Billie Jean) and Michael Lerner are a plus,
while Ian Ziering makes a bizarre casting choice that simply does not work.
Cappello
also wrote this, then later wrote the horrid screenplay adaptation of Constantine, though he fared better
with He Was A Quiet Man (both
reviewed elsewhere on this site) so he has an occurrent journeyman history in
the business. Here, he is at least
ambitious, albeit derivative. If you
like these kinds of films, this is worth a look on Blu-ray.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 image on the Blu-ray is not bad for a low-budget film few have seen,
with good color, decent detail and depth throughout. It can be soft and have a little motion blur,
but is in the upper half of back catalog Blu-rays we have seen from the time
period. Though released in Ultra Stereo
analog sound, a harsher and more distorted form of Dolby A-type analog, the Dolby
TrueHD 5.1 mix is not bad considering its age and the low budget of this
production. You get some good surrounds
and punchy sound effects meant to get one’s attention. There are no extras, unless you count
previews for other Sony Blu-rays.
- Nicholas Sheffo
