Give 'Em Hell Malone: Blu-ray (2009)

Remember when Tom Jane was a movie "star"? I guess that didn't last long. Now he's starring in a mediocre HBO show (Hung) and making straight to video flicks. Give 'Em Hell Malone is a straight to video movie (from the director of Highlander!) that can best be described as comic neo-noir. 

Jane plays Malone, an hard edged dude with an affinity for whiskey and a knack for staying alive despite multiple gunshot wounds. He gets wrapped up in a mystery involving a briefcase,a pretty girl, a lot of mutilation and French Stewart. The plot is really secondary to the style of the movie. It doesn't really matter what happens, it only matters what it looks like while it's happening. 

For a straight to video movie it has a pretty well known cast. Besides Tom and French, Ving Rhames is also along for the ride. All the acting is very stylized, which is a nice way of saying intentionally terrible. Jane mumbles through most of his dialogue and Rhames does a tough guy impersonation we've seen from him many times before. Special notice goes to Doug Hutchinson who gives the most over the top villainous performance (as a facially scarred psychotic pyro) I've seen since Dom West in Punisher: War Zone (which Hutchinson was also in). The violence is very cartooney and the CGI is horribly fake looking. There are also so many groan inducing one liners that it had to be intentional. All that said I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. The action scenes are well done and the pace never drags. It also has a visual style that keeps you involved no matter how crazy it gets. Everything is so ridiculous that it's hard to not at least be entertained.

The Blu-ray itself is very hit and miss. The picture quality is pretty poor for a high def release but the way it was shot definitely does not help. The intended noirish look results in a lot of shots being very soft and there is tons of grain present. On the plus side the audio is very powerful though not at all subtle. Every gun shot rings out and there is tons of low end constantly.

I liked Give 'Em Hell Malone enough, especially for a straight to video release, to say it's worth watching but you're not really missing out on anything by skipping it either, unless you want proof that French Stewart is still alive.

Ratings:

Movie 2.5/5

Blu-ray 3/5