Exit Wounds (2001) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Action |
Dolby Digital Trailer-Train Main Menu Audio Biographies-Cast & Crew Featurette-Making Of Music Video-DMX Featurette-A Day On The Set With Anthony Anderson Theatrical Trailer |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2001 | ||
Running Time | 97:12 (Case: 124) | ||
RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (36:21) | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Andrzej Bartkowiak |
Studio
Distributor |
Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Steven Seagal DMX Isaiah Washington Anthony Anderson Michael Jai White Bill Duke Jill Hennessy Tom Arnold |
Case | Soft Brackley-Transp | ||
RPI | $39.95 | Music |
Jeff Rona Damon 'Grease' Blackman |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
This is Steven Seagal's first film back after a break. They may have been wondering if he could draw enough of an audience by himself, so they added a rapper called DMX to the mix. He also contributes extensively to the score - I rather liked his version of Ain't No Sunshine, even though rap is not a favourite of mine. They must also have been wondering about Seagal's fighting style, because they brought in a fight choreographer from Hong Kong, Dion Lam. It shows: plenty of wire work (most of it a little less obvious than Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), and some truly improbable fighting moves. I guess they figured that there was no problem with Seagal's character defying the laws of physics - he doesn't pay attention to any other laws. The least credible part of the fighting comes toward the end, in a sword fight, although the "shotgun on a string" trick is quite difficult to believe, too.
I don't want to tell you too much about the plot, because there are a couple of twists that are (almost) worth seeing. The basics are familiar to anyone whose seen any Steven Seagal as cop film - Seagal is a loose cannon cop, a lone wolf, you know. He is busted to directing traffic not because he is unsuccessful, but because he doesn't follow the rules. We've seen this part of the plot many times before - even in Lethal Weapon 3.
Tom Arnold is contending with Anthony Anderson as the comic relief. Of the two, I find Tom Arnold funnier, but he has help from the script writer. Seagal meets Arnold in a rage management group therapy class; the script is a bit heavy-handed here.
This is not a bad movie, but it is not particularly original. The stunts are mostly rather good, although they have flaws: spot the obvious dummy in the scene where the motorcycle cop is hit by the truck in the first five minutes. There are a couple of moments that are unnecessarily gruesome (just like Under Siege) - two impalings that linger a moment longer than I'm comfortable with.
If you want an action movie with some spectacular fight scenes, and some heavy music, then maybe this is for you. One thing to note, though: the cover quotes the running time as 124 minutes - it is really 97:12 - that's a huge discrepancy.
This movie is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. That is the theatrical aspect ratio.
The image is rather clear, with very good shadow detail and no low level noise. There is no visible edge enhancement.
Colour is solid, with deep, well-saturated colour and no hint of colour bleed.
There is some film grain (particularly at 75:33, and 77:10-77:14), but no film artefacts. There is only a little bit of aliasing, and one moment of moire. There is nothing in the way of MPEG artefacts other than a little shimmer in some backgrounds.
The only subtitles are English captions. They are presented in white with a black border, in a simple, easily read font. Apart from the occasional abbreviation, they are accurate.
The disc is single-sided and dual-layered, formatted as RSDL. The layer change is at 36:21. It comes in the middle of a scene, but it is not especially objectionable. Placed a few seconds later it would have been nearly invisible - oh, well.
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Overall |
We get a choice of one soundtrack; English Dolby Digital 5.1 at 384 kbps.
Moments of the dialogue are obscured under the score, but the missing words don't rate as critical dialogue. There are no visible audio sync flaws.
The score is credited to Jeff Rona and Damon Blackman, but DMX is a significant contributor. Parts of this score reminded me of Dangerous Minds, but that is probably because I don't listen to rap very often.
There is some directionality in the soundtrack during fight sequences (especially the fight in the club), but generally the surrounds are used for no more than adding depth to the score. The subwoofer gets some work from both the score and the sound effects, but it is nicely merged into the sound, rather than drawing attention to itself.
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Overall |
The main menu is static, with some music behind it. Nothing special, but perfectly functional.
A listing of all the major players, with a one-page filmography for five of the participants: Steven Seagal, Tom Arnold, DMX, Isaiah Washington, and director Andrzej Bartkowiak.
This is a fairly standard fluff piece, in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Don't watch it until you've seen the movie - it blows every major plot point, even though it isn't particularly informative.
DMX performing the song, intermixed with shots from the film. It's a music video. There is a moment of clear audio sync failure, but I think that's in the source material, rather than the transfer.
Anthony Anderson trying to be funny, and hamming it up. Has some mildly interesting moments, but isn't worth a second view unless you're a fan.
A fairly ordinary trailer, in an aspect ratio of about 1.85:1, not 16x9 enhanced. The usual warning: it blows some plot points, so don't watch it before seeing the movie. There's one interesting scene in the trailer which makes it look as though a particular person used to work for Internal Affairs, when it's someone else - I wonder if that was deliberate?
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 1 disc offers the same features - looks like this is another case of the two being close to identical.
Exit Wounds is an action film with some cool fight scenes, but not a fabulous plot, given a very good transfer onto DVD.
The video quality is very good.
The audio quality is very good, despite a little bit of inaudible dialogue.
The extras are reasonable.
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Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Arcam DV88, using Component output |
Display | Sony VPH-G70 CRT Projector, QuadScan Elite scaler (Tripler), ScreenTechnics 110. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Denon AVC-A1SE |
Speakers | Front Left and Right: Krix Euphonix, Centre: Krix KDX-C Rears: Krix KDX-M, Subwoofer: Krix Seismix 5 |