Andre Braugher Movie:

Striking Distance [Region 2] Reviews:
Bruce Willis
2009-08-04 - Had seen the movie before and wanted to add it to our Bruce Willis colleciton.

Striking Distance
2009-08-01 - This movie will keep you on the edge of your seat. Bruce Willis is a cop tracking a sadistic killer. Sarah Jessica Parker is his partner and looks great in red. Very action packed.

Blu-ray: Found this film to be quite entertaining but the Blu-ray is barebones!
2009-06-21 - In Sept. 1993, a suspenseful thriller starring action star Bruce Willis ("Die Hard", "The Fifth Element", "The Sixth Sense) and actress Sarah Jessica Parker ("Sex and the City", "Ed Wood", "L.A. Story") was released in theaters.

The film was directed by Rowdy Herrington ("Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius" and "The Stickup") and a screenplay co-written by Herrington and Marty Kaplan ("Max Q" and "The Distinguished Gentleman"). The film would feature music by Brad Fiedel ("Johnny Mnemonic", "Timecop" and "True Lies") and cinematographer Mac Ahlberg ("Good Burger", "Ragdoll", "The Brady Bunch Movie" and "Beverly Hills Cop III").

VIDEO & AUDIO:

For a film released in 1993, I'm going to be truthful, I was expecting a film that was going to be heavily DNR'd (Digital Noise Reduction) and look soft with less detail. This was not the case, "STRIKING DISTANCE" which received its first 1080p High Definition transfer (1:85:1 aspect ratio) looks absolutely beautiful on Blu-ray. Outdoor scenes with sunlight and multiple colors look vibrant, you can see skin tones quite well, blacks are nice and deep and blues are nice and beautiful. Also, grain is present and captures that film-like quality.

Equally impressive was the audio soundtrack for the film. The film is presented in English, French and Portuguese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (and Spanish 5.1) and from the opening scenes, there is good use of the rear surrounds during the car chase scene and also gun shots. In fact, some scenes I detected usage of LFE which was nice.

Is it as immersive as today's modern action films? The answer is no. But considering the age of the film, I was happy to hear a nice clean dialogue but also special effects coming nice and clear through the front channels and my surrounds.

Subtitles are presented in English, English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features but trailers for upcoming Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases. The Blu-ray disc is BD-Live Enabled.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"STRIKING DISTANCE" was an enjoyable, suspenseful thriller. Back in 1993, Bruce Willis who had such a wonderful rise to fame with both "Die Hard" films returned with several action films that people either loved or hated. From "Hudson Hawk", "The Last Boyscout" and even his lighthearted roles as the voice for films such as "Look Who's Talking" and his role as David Addison on the popular TV show "Moonlighting" was still fresh on the minds of many people who enjoyed his work.

Personally, I felt that Bruce Willis is an "everyman", an actor who can play a variety of roles in his career (which he has demonstrated quite well in the last 25 years) but around that time, many people were basing everything that he did and comparing it with "Die Hard".

"STRIKING DISTANCE" is no die hard. Bruce Willis may be playing a cop and he may go a bit gung ho at times but his character as Tom Hardy is scarred. From the death of his father and women he was romantically with, having to wear a brace on his leg and so he is not exactly mobile. The character is flawed but for me, that's what made his character so appealing.

Sarah Jessica Parker (many years before "Sex and the City" made her a huge star) was an actress that caught our attention in the 1991 romantic comedy "L.A. Story" but previous to that, most of us connected through Parker from her role in the 80's show "Square Pegs", so to see her in an action film and being the main love interest opposite to Bruce Willis was quite interesting. And she provides that necessary balance between her character and Willis's character of Tom Hardy.

The film is a fun popcorn flick and it does have its farfetched moments. But I watched the film having low expectations (considering many critics did n0t enjoy it) and by the end of the film, actually enjoying it. In fact, there were times that I felt the film was becoming too predictable. Actually, in the first half hour, I felt I figured out the film but it was nice to see how the writers played with the storyline and gave us a pretty interesting and surprising reveal of the killer's identity at the end.

"STRIKING DISTANCE" also has the benefit of receiving a pretty good transfer from Sony but again, another classic release that is barebones with no commentary or special features whatsoever. Not even the film's trailer is included.

In the end, for those who enjoyed the film and own it on DVD, the double dip is worth it if you are wanting it for the improved picture and audio quality. For those not familiar with the film and are wondering if it's an action film they can enjoy, it's worth checking out.

Overall, "STRIKING DISTANCE" is not the best suspenseful, thriller and by no means does it match the action of a "Die Hard" film but it does have an intriguing, suspenseful storyline with a surprising reveal at the end.

Fan of the film, subpar Blu product
2009-06-11 - I have always liked the film and had hoped when this hit Blu they would clean up the picture and sound.

The picture appeared to get some treatment, mostly with the vibrancy of certain colors (Sarah Jessica Parker's red dress) but there is all of the artifact, grain and material from the DVD. There seems to be some softening of the flesh tones, but mostly in her scenes. The sound is the TrueHD, which sounded dull and had to real surround, even during the chase scenes.

No special features, a dull menu and no real upgrades make this nothing special over the DVD, but I still enjoyed reliving the cornball story, acting and seeing Bruce during his 17-film run in the early nineties.

dvd
2009-05-07 - I love Bruce Willis in all of his action movies, but, this time, the enemy is family. A must see film, even seeing Sara Jessica Parker in spandex adds to the film. For fans, this is a must have to add to their collection.