http://www.cutprintfilm.com/reviews/blu ... kin-trade/
THE PICTURE 4.5/5
Skin Trade makes for an excellent looking image, especially on this wonderful blu-ray presentation. The visuals on hand are stable, solid, crisp, clear, and carnage-ridden. Of very minor concern are momentary presences of swirling within deep blacks. As stated on the commentary track, this is the first foray into the action genre for director Uekrongtham, who at that point had done mostly “art pictures,” so there is an added visual quality to Skin Trade‘s manliness. This is preserved very well in the video presentation.
THE SOUND 4.5/5
Skin Trade had two options: sound awesome, or pack up and go home. Luckily, Skin Trade sounds awesome. Cracking gunfire, crunching punches and kicks, explosions, shattering glass, shrieking bad guys. There’s no mistaking this: Skin Trade is proudly loud, and it sounds tremendous. Alternately, the quieter moments are given their due. Dialogue is clear (unless it belongs to Tony Jaa) (sorry!) and the musical score by Jacob Groth (The “Millennium” Trilogy) is appropriately presented.
THE SUPPLEMENTS 4/5
Lundgren provides a solo commentary that shares a lot of background on the making of the film, which he’d written ten years prior to its production after having read a newspaper article about the human trafficking epidemic in Eastern Europe and Mexico. He delves into every aspect of the film-making process, from working with his assortment of actors to the writing process (to the rewriting process), to considering directing the film himself before stepping aside for Thai director Uekrongtham (who could hold better control over the Thai-speaking crew). He tends to repeat himself every so often, but only briefly. It’s also amusing to hear him crack a joke and then chuckle dryly about it. It’s a good listen for fans of the film or the man himself.
Next up is “The Making of Skin Trade,” which is your typical but still informative EPK-type interviews with most of the major players. (Interview footage of Michael Jai White looks terrible for some reason.) There’s a reasonable amount of overlap in regards to the information previously provided on the commentary track, but input from other participants obviously provides different perspectives on the production.
The complete list of special features is as follows:
Commentary with Actor/Writer/Producer Dolph Lundgren
Deleted/Extended Scenes
The Making of Skin Trade
Behind the Action: Fighting You Can Believe
Interview with Dolph Lundgren
A Look at Director Ekachai Uekrongtham
Trailers for Other Magnolia Home Entertainment Releases
BD-Live
OVERALL 3.5/5
Skin Trade is likely Dolph Lundgren’s best limited release/direct-to-video offering since 2012’s Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, even though it offers an entirely different aesthetic. It’s not often when even idle praise can be offered to any of our yesteryear action stars who have all gone direct to video with their careers, so when something comes along that offers a reasonable good time and a solid pedigree of action star actors (which Skin Trade easily boasts), then there’s no harm in indulging in well-meaning and somewhat brainless action fare.
