DVD Review: Jeff Bridges in 8 MILLION WAYS TO DIE!
Written by legendary director Oliver Stone, this forgotten 80's gripping thriller comes to DVD for the very first time!
For a lot of contemporary audiences, Oscar winning actor Jeff Bridges is probably most recognisable for his role in Country/Western drama Crazy Heart (for which he eventually won his gong) and for stepping into the almighty shoes of John Wayne in the recent True Grit remake and probably for his villainous turn in Iron Man. However, back in the 80s Bridges turned in this role as a hardboiled, alcoholic cop in the action-packed caper 8 Million Ways to Die, which was released on DVD for the first time yesterday and I bet has hardly been seen by anyone who wasn't an adult at the time of release. Matthew Scudder (Bridges) is a tough LAPD drugs cop, who also has a dependency on alcohol that is beginning to affect his work. When he shoots a suspect in a drugs raid after having a tipple, his life rapidly spirals out of control and he winds up loosing both his wife and his job. Determined to clean up his act he attends Alcoholics Anonymous and quits his booze dependency. When a prostitute called Sunny (Alexandra Paul) begs him for protection but ultimately winds up dead, Scudder finds himself in a gregarious position that might just lead him straight back to the bottle Scudder soon finds himself drawn deeper back into a world of vice as he hunts down Sunnys killer amongst the seedy LA underbelly of pimps and drug dealers. For those that love the bravura action movies of the 80s, 8 Million Ways to Die will probably be a worthy addition to your collection of films. However, for those who do not have a fanatical obsession with these types of films, this is highly formulaic and nowhere near as impressive as some of the classic examples of the genre. Similar to Lethal Weapon, 8 Million opens with a fall from grace for its lead character: something that makes him all too human. Scudders alcohol dependency impairs his ability to become one of the supercops so many other action stars became during this period (think Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Charles Bronson and Sylvester Stallone as just the beginning), which is an interesting and abnormal element within a film that so faithfully sticks to virtually all of the conventional genre tropes of an action/crime thriller. Written by legendary director Oliver Stone, this is far from a magnum opus for such a talented man. The film is overlong at 110 minutes with much of the dialogue appearing as filler rather than essential to either the building of Scudders character or the development of the plot. The deteriorating relationship between Scudder and his family is almost entirely overlooked for dull dialogue between him and the various criminals he traces. The alcoholism that drives the opening of the film is also all but forgotten by the final showdown, leaving viewers questioning what exactly the point was of the film? For those that like to sit back, disengage their brains and watch mindless action over a well-developed plot, 8 Million Ways to Die will certainly be a winner. But, for those that enjoy action combined with a suspenseful and intriguing plot, there is really very little here to keep your interest. The performances are worth more than the mediocre material requires, with Bridges in particular making Scudder a more interesting character than the narrative demands. His performance in the opening sequences effectively captures the drunken mess that the character has become, with a scene where his wife and daughter find him asleep outside their home with an empty tequila bottle in hand being the epitome of the extent of Scudders fall. Here, Bridges plays drunk in a realistic and affecting way and avoids any underlying element of unintentional comedy (something he could very well have slipped into). Admirable support comes from Rosanna Arquette and Andy Garcia as the villain of the piece, but this is very much Bridges show. QUALITY The quality of the transfer is average, with very little exceptional about it. In fact, at times the picture sticks for a second or a glitch in the image becomes noticeably apparent. Aside from these infrequent and minor moments, the overall picture quality is reasonable and whilst there is the odd bit of grain or other distortion noticeable, the film is very watchable. The audio quality is fine, with dialogue and sound effects clear and crisp. My only gripe is with the irritating, heavily synthesized soundtrack, which is crystal clear and far from an 80s classic! EXTRAS Unfortunately, no additional features come with this release. 8 Million Ways to Die is available on DVD today.