BLOOD OF REDEMPTION (Giorgio Serafini/Shawn Sourgose, 2013)

[Nikolai Cherenco]

Looks very cheap. But Dolph seems to have an interesting role.

[Jox]

Extra: Making of featurette

US back cover

(click for high-res image)

New trailer:

[Nathan]

Much better. Still looks cheap but a nice little thriller. Is that CGI sparks I see? I thought only I did that...

[Jox]

Press release and 3D packshot

A KILLER ENSEMBLE FEATURING DOLPH LUNDGREN, VINNIE JONES, BILLY ZANE AND ROBERT DAVI GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS IN THIS ACTION-PACKED CRIME THRILLER IN THE TRADITION OF THE EXPENDABLES AND THE PUNISHER

BLOOD OF REDEMPTION

Street Date: September 24, 2013
SRP: DVD ($19.98)/BD COMBO PACK ($29.98)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Power, money and betrayal converge in this star-studded, action-packed thriller featuring the best cast of baddies ever, as Dolph Lundgren, Vinnie, Billy Zane and Robert Davi get down to business in BLOOD OF REDEMPTION! Quinn Forte (Zane) had it all: power, money, a woman who loved him and a brother who idolized him. But in one night, he loses it all when betrayed by his inner circle, he's arrested and sent to jail. Upon his release, though, Quinn makes a bloody return to the underworld to exact revenge on those who set him up. And this time, redemption can only be found through blood...

CAST
Dolph Lundgren (The Expendables, Universal Soldier, Rocky IV)
Vinnie Jones (Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels)
Billy Zane (Titanic, The Phantom, Dead Calm)
Robert Davi (Die Hard, The Goonies, License to Kill)
Gianni Capaldi (Ambushed, The Wicked Within, "Vigilante Diaries")

BONUS FEATURES
Making-of Featurette

PROGRAM INFORMATION
Type: DVD/BD Combo
Catalog #: (DVD) EOE-DV-7551 / (BD Combo) EOE-BD-7552
Running Time: 90 minutes + extras
Genre: Action/Adventure
Rating: N/R
Aspect Ratio: DVD:16x9 (1.78:1)/BD: 1080p High Def 1.78:1
Audio: DVD:5.1 Surround Sound/BD: DTS-HD Master Audio
Language: English with SDH subtitles

[dude hallenbeck]

Coming to Australia November 6th on Blu Ray/DVD Combo.

[Jox]

Coming to Australia November 6th on Blu Ray/DVD Combo.

[Moltisanti]

So this is now available in the states through Redbox machines. I sadly took the bait. What a dull stain of a film. Inane dialog, digital muzzle flashes, Robert Davi with a British accent. Buckets of failure.

Real shame to see Dolph in something like this. He is just going through the motions here. There's one sorta decent scene where he fights a dominatrix and that's basically the only minute where the film shows any personality.

I'm betting we'll get more of the same with AMBUSHED. Maybe CERTAIN JUSTICE will end up slightly better because at least Lundgren will get to play a zany villain in that one.

Minus credits this one clocks in at 78 minutes. Still too long.

[Jox]

So this is now available in the states through Redbox machines.

Already? BD/DVD is street date is 9/24. Does it happen Red Boxes get it first or do you think it might be a one off where they put it in there 'unofficially' when they got delivered?

There's one sorta decent scene where he fights a dominatrix and that's basically the only minute where the film shows any personality.

The scene with his girlfriend Jenny I believe that's why!

I also think CERTAIN JUSTICE will be the best, most interesting and fun of the batch, with Cung Le at lezast delivering some decent fights and action which RUSH/AMBUSHED and BOR seem almost devoid of. I had hope this one could be a decent gangster character piece like a sub-BETTER TOMORROW but unfortunately not.

[shooby]

The scene with his girlfriend Jenny I believe that's why!

Blood of Redemption, Saf3, Race to the scene ... she really follow him everywhere

[Moltisanti]

So this is now available in the states through Redbox machines.

Already? BD/DVD is street date is 9/24. Does it happen Red Boxes get it first or do you think it might be a one off where they put it in there 'unofficially' when they got delivered?

My guess would be the company that released the disc has some sort of deal with Redbox to put their films out a couple weeks earlier than the listed release date. Now that Blockbuster is basically all gone Redbox is just about the last way to actually rent a disc so they may have all sorts of deals with smaller distributors to put their films out early.

[Jox]

Indeed they have it in their "new titles" section:
http://www.redbox.com/

[savagesketch]

Yep, Redbox must have had a deal with the distributor to get a two week head start. As much as I love Redbox, there tend to be quite a few junky, cheap titles in there...

I sadly took the bait as well and watched it the other night... Agree with Moltisanti. Bad, bad, bad... The film just screams "made on the cheap," which it clearly was. The opening title sequence is a joke, and the story tries to be suspenseful with some "twists" thrown in, only for those to be seen a mile away. Dolph does okay with what he's given I guess, but it's very apparent that he and everyone else involved in this production were in it for a quick paycheck. Few days of shooting and done. I can't knock the cast too bad... Maybe with a better story and under a better production (mainly one that wasn't so cheap and rushed), this mighta worked. I've liked Billy Zane, Vinnie Jones, and Robert Davi in other things they've done. But everyone involved is a stock character, villain, etc. who grimaces, takes money, blah, blah... And, another sign of a quick, cheapo production... The characters maintain the same wardrobe throughout the entire film... and it's supposed to take place over a few days... Ugh. This was one rushed production that was quickly put out on DVD. I gotta believe that Dolph has a gem or two in the pipeline. Sadly, just like my prior judgment indicated, this wasn't one of 'em.

For the Dolph completists, I'd say it's recommended to check out, but the production values rival AGENT RED... no joke.

[Nathan]

To be honest, that's just embarrassing for Dolph - even I used real guns for my new film - I actually thought I saw CGI muzzle flashes in the Couture movie Hijacked, also with Jones. They really don't give a fuck now do they.

[Moltisanti]

I've accepted that movies today are gonna use digital blood more often than not. Not thrilled about it, but I can accept it if it's done somewhat well. Digital muzzle flashes on the other hand just annoy me to no end. That is never acceptable. Always a sign you are watching a bad movie.

I guess all these movies (BOR, AMBUSHED, CERTAIN JUSTICE) are meant to try and launch the film career of Gianni Capaldi. He may be a nice fellow but the next Scott Adkins he is not.

Yep, Redbox must have had a deal with the distributor to get a two week head start. As much as I love Redbox, there tend to be quite a few junky, cheap titles in there...

That's for sure, though in retrospect maybe I should have passed on BOR and snatched THE CONTRACTOR:

[udar55]

Count me in as the third Redbox sucker. This is really rough stuff, shot like a telenovela with some cheap CGI (gun flashes, head shots). On the directorial side, this thing is a mess. Sure, the dislike of the use of flashes of character names when they first appear on screen is a personal bias on my end, but you can't make up some of the stuff co-directors and co-writers Giorgio Serafini and Shawn Sourgose screw up. The script is overly complicated (it is mostly told via flashback as Lundgren maps out the usual suspects on a bulletin board) and laughable. There is one scene where a line of dialogue is repeated twice ("His name was Boris") and a fifteen minute span where characters alternately refer to an earlier event (the death of Serge and Quinn's arrest) as happening two, three and four years ago. The worst is the finale where Lundgren's character is shot while toting an M-16. His shooter comes up to him and there is a handgun laying next to his body with a rifle nowhere to be seen. And who casts Robert Davi as a Brit? Just embarrassing. Of course, this is just a direct-to-video action flick so it can be saved by some good fights. Sadly, none are on display as the choreography is as lazy as the directors. And it is only hand-to-hand fights and shootings. Not a single car gets over 30 mph. The highlight is probably Dolph getting into a fight in a dominatrix den with a lady while a topless lady tied to a frame screams in the background. Yeah, really. I really wish Dolph would be more selective, but I know the rent ain't gonna pay itself. Anyway, bring on BATTLE OF THE DAMNED!