Gridlocked (Blu-ray) (2015)

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General		Extras
Category	Action	Trailer-x 4 for other Eagle Entertainment releases
Rating
Year Of Production	2015
Running Time	113:18
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Allan Ungar
Studio Distributor	Eagle Entertainment	Starring	Dominic Purcell Cody Hackman Stephen Lang James A. Woods Trish Status Steve Byers Vinnie Jones
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Jacob Shea

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     SWAT leader David Hendrix (Dominic Purcell) is recovering from being shot in the line of duty. Placed on special duties, he is ordered to babysit Brody Walker (Cody Hackman), an arrogant and irritating movie star with anger, drug and alcohol issues doing mandatory community service to avoid a conviction that would ruin his career. The two have nothing in common until Hendrix takes Brody on a visit to an isolated police training facility where his old team, Jason (James A. Woods), Gina (Trish Status) and Scott (Steve Byers) are based. But while they are there the facility is attacked by a group of heavily armed mercenaries co-ordinated by Korver (Stephen Lang) and his second in command Ryker (Vinnie Jones). Korver very badly wants something that is hidden within the facility and is ready to kill everyone inside to get it.

     Gridlocked is the second feature by director / co-writer / co-editor Allan Unger. He has obviously watched a lot of action films of the Die Hard / Lethal Weapon ilk for Gridlocked has just about every plot point and cliché from those and other iconic action films; mismatched “buddies”, forced humour, an indestructible hero, a dastardly villain with a very elaborate plan, guns, explosions and more guns, huge body count. And, just for good measure, a traitor within the team and a role for Danny Glover, who gets to deliver a version of his Lethal Weapon “too old” trademark quip.

     There is nothing remotely new in Gridlocked and at 113 minutes the film is too long, with too many illogical subplots such as the sudden reveal of a traitor within the team which is unnecessary and silly. This traitor has already killed about a dozen attackers before showing their true colours; why not just shot the team members from behind and get it over with? Dominic Purcell is no Bruce Willis but he is stoic and indestructible and Stephen Lang chews the scenery nicely but this is not a film where character is of much importance. Yet, for those who enjoy a full on action film, for much of its running time Unger has delivered a slick film with a myriad of well-executed sequences that are loud and chaotic as the bullets (many, many bullets) and the bodies fly, glass shatters, debris falls and blood flows. So if a no-brainer, slick action film is of appeal Gridlocked is worth checking out.

Video

     Gridlocked is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, close the original ratio of 2.35:1, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     Most of Gridlocked takes place at night or in the dimly lit police facility with grey walls. The colour scheme is thus dull and muted, interspersed with the bright red and yellow of shots and explosions. The few exterior shots have glossy digital colours, while the print also shows that digital yellowish lights. Detail, blacks and shadow detail are very good, brightness and contrast consistent, skin tones generally natural.

     Artefacts and marks were not evident.

     There are no subtitles.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The only audio choice is English DTS-HD MA 5.1.

     This audio is a loud, active and enveloping track during the action sequences when the surrounds and rears are full of gunshots, bullet hits and ricochets, debris, explosions, bodies hitting the floor, breaking glass and smashed furniture. Dialogue is mostly clear, although there are some mumbled lines when subtitles would have helped. The sub-woofer fully supported the explosions, bullets, general mayhem and the music.

     The score by Jacob Shea is good, just what one would expect in an action film.

     There are no lip synchronisation issues.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Trailers

     Trailers for Vigilante Diaries (1:42), Attack of the Lederhosen Zombies (0:58), The Preppie Connection (1:45) and American Hero (2:10) play on start-up. They cannot be selected from the menu.

    The US Region A Blu-ray of Gridlocked adds English and Spanish subtitles and the following extras:

• 8 Deleted Scenes (11:34)
• Blooper Reel (6:03)
• Making of (15:53)
• Inside the Action Featurette (6:40)

     Originality and character development is not a high priority for Gridlocked but one cannot help but enjoy the sheer exuberance of the gunfire, fights, explosions and hand to hand combat throughout the film. Action has been done better, of course, but this production does not look shoddy or cheap. Indeed, action has been done a whole lot worse than in Gridlocked so there is much here to enjoy.

     The video is good, the audio loud and enveloping. We miss out on all the extras available in the US.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall