My take: The Way of the Gun

HD Goofnut

Title: The Way of the Gun (2000)
BD-25 Single Layer Disc
Video: 1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Audio: 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Aspect Ratio: 1:85:1
Subtitles: English and Spanish
Run time: 119 minutes
Studio: Lionsgate Films
Rating: R
Region Coding: Region Free
Player used for review: LG BH200

Cast/Crew Info:
Ryan Phillippe as Mr. Parker
Benicio Del Toro as Mr. Longbaugh
Juliette Lewis as Robin
Taye Diggs as Jeffers
Nicky Katt as Obecks
Geoffrey Lewis as Abner Mercer
Dylan Kussman as Dr. Allen Painter
James Caan as Joe Sarno
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie

My take: (the breakdown)

I always wanted to see The Way of the Gun since it was originally released back in 2000, but I never got around to it. Well, it was released last week on Blu-ray and I figured now was a good a time as any to give a rent. The story follows that of Mr. Parker and Longbaugh and their boring lives as they have turned to being criminals so that they can get by from day to day. When they overhear that a certain pregnant woman is extremely valuable because of her unborn child they decide to take the initiative. The two men kidnap the pregnant woman so that they can hold her for a ransom of 15 million dollars. It sounds simple right? Well, as stated in the movie: "A plan is a list of things you don't do." I say this is worth a rental if you have never seen it, but that's all I can really recommend with this title.

For a 9 year old film this was about what I was expecting. Colors are well saturated, but seem slightly muted. Flesh tones seem to be rather accurate most of the time, but could have been slightly pale. Grain is moderate, but it sometimes becomes heavier and slightly noisy during the darker night scenes. Fine detail is extremely well done in regards to closeups, but suffers with wider long distance shots. There are also a few speckles of dirt that pop up now and again. My estimation would be that this is the best the film has ever looked.

As with most Lionsgate titles we are supplied with a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Dialogue is crisp and clear and well prioritized. The surrounds and sub see plenty of use since this movie has a lot of gunfire from start to finish. I did feel that the mix was too front heavy at times, but this did not happen very often. The musical score does manage to be more engaging than other effects across all channels.

We get the same supplemental package that was included with the DVD release in 2000. We get an audio commentary with the director and the musical composer, the isolated score of the film, short interviews with each of the cast members, and the film's trailer. All of the above features are presented in 480.

Movie: 6.5/10
VQ: 7.5/10
AQ: 8/10
Supplements: 4/10
Final word: Worth a Rental

As always thanks for reading folks.

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