Good, the Bad, and the Dead, The (Blu-ray) (2015)

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General		Extras
Category	Action	Trailer-x 5 for other Eagle Entertainment releases
Rating
Year Of Production	2015
Running Time	84:07
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Timothy Woodward Jr.
Studio Distributor	Eagle Entertainment	Starring	Johnny Messner Dolph Lundgren Michael Pare Vivica Fox Danny Trejo John Laughlin Natassia Malthe
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Sid De La Cruz

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

"Somebody always knows"

     Brian Barns (Johnny Messner) regains consciousness in the desert, wounded, surrounded by dead bodies, with a van containing $3 million and drugs nearby but with no memory of how he got there or who he is. A police car arrives with corrupt Sheriff Olson (Michael Pare) and his deputy; when he sees the money Olson shoots his deputy dead but in turn is shot by Barns, who drives off with the van, the money and the drugs. The DEA headed by Bob Rooker (Dolph Lundgren) soon arrive and take charge of the investigation, coordinated by Agent Cole (Vivica Fox). However, also watching the scene from a distance is drug lord Mateo Perez (Danny Trejo); it was his money and drugs that are now missing and he also has a personal connection with one of the dead bodies.

     Barns follows an address on his phone to the house of Howard and Christine Summers (John Laughlin, Natassia Malthe), whom he ties up until he can remember who he is. Meanwhile Barns, and the money, are being sought by the DEA, Perez and Sheriff Olson who has survived being shot. As the connections between all the players, and Barns’ past, are gradually revealed, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish the good from the bad, before, indeed, many end up dead.

     The Good, the Bad, and the Dead (aka 4Got10), directed by Timothy Woodward Jr, starts with an intriguing set up which it mostly wastes. The pace of the film is uneven as it struggles to incorporate a wide range of characters, hidden motives and betrayals, some of which end very abruptly and feel a wasted opportunity to do something more interesting, for example the Danny Trejo character, while it throws away some of the twists that could have been very intriguing, (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) such as the shooting of Rooker, before a long end sequence that takes its time to explain everything. The acting is also uneven; Vivica Fox overacts like crazy, not that this matters as she has little to do with the plot and Dolph Lundgren is as wooden as usual, although in contrast both Johnny Messner and Michael Pare are restrained and good to watch while they are on the screen.

     The action sequences in The Good, the Bad, and the Dead are not too bad, although Woodward does overindulge with slow motion frames and shots of bullets leaving the barrel of the gun. The desert landscapes, shot by cinematographer Pablo Diez, are impressive and the music by Sid De La Cruz, a combination of Mexican brass and Morricone spaghetti western type riffs, are occasionally intrusive but are so exuberant they add a sense of fun to the visuals.

     The Good, the Bad, and the Dead is a modern western, a thriller and a mystery about hidden motives, greed and betrayals. It feels overwritten after the interesting set up, too convoluted and with too many stories which add little or nothing to the plot, although it is visually impressive and Johnny Messner and Michael Pare are both worth watching.

Video

     The Good, the Bad, and the Dead is presented in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     Shot digitally, the colours are glossy with a browny tinge, reflecting the desert landscapes, although this does also affect some of the skin tones. Details are firm however, shadow detail and blacks fine, brightness and contrast consistent.

     I did not notice any obvious artefacts or marks.

     There are no subtitles available.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

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

     The dialogue is clear. The rears and surrounds were active with the score generally but added gunshots, ricochets and hits during the action scenes. The sub-woofer added depth to the music and gunfights.

     The original score by Sid De La Cruz as noted above was a combination of Mexican brass and Morricone spaghetti western type riffs adding a sense of fun to the visuals.

     There are no lip synchronisation issues.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Trailers

     Trailers for From a House on Willow Street (2:02), Fear Inc. (1:57), 2307 Winter’s Dream (1:58), Tell Me How I Die (2:33) and End of a Gun (1:59) play on start-up. They cannot be selected from the menu.

     There are only DVD releases of The Good, the Bad, and the Dead in the US and the UK listed on sales sites. There are Spanish and German Region Blu-rays, the German at least adding a trailer as well as a 3D version, but otherwise there appears to be no extras.

     The Good, the Bad, and the Dead starts promisingly but gets itself mired in too many subplots and subsidiary characters. However, when it breaks free into the action it delivers a sense of exuberance aided by its music and good performances from Johnny Messner and Michael Pare. For fans of the genre it is worth a look.

     The video and audio are fine. Trailers for other films are the only extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall