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Partners In Crime
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Rutger Hauer co-stars as Reardon, a detective investigating a murder/kidnapping which bears some uncanny resemblances to a bungled case from 11 years ago, and the FBI, including one agent who happens to be Reardon's ex-wife, is brought in. All the clues point to an inside job...possibly Reardon himself?
There's quite a glut of similar thrillers in the DVD market, and although the revelation of the guilty in "Partners In Crime" is far from surprising, there's enough going on in the film to keep it interesting from beginning to end. Usually these sorts of films really drag between the crime itself and the inevitable shootout, but "Partners In Crime" manages to remain engaging throughout, and the shootout itself is far different than the extended, frantic battles to which I'm accustomed. I'm not saying that "Partners In Crime" is groundbreaking or innovative, but it's a much better way to spend 90 minutes than most of the whodunnits out there.
Video: "Partners In Crime" is full-frame (to be expected, as I believe it was a direct-to-video release), and although its relatively-low-budget origins show through from time to time, overall, the film looks rather nice. There is very little in the way of dust and specks, although one shot of a plane is marred with such flaws and seems grossly out-of-place. The color palette throughout seems a bit inconsistent, with some scenes seeming vibrant and full and others seeming dull, appearing more like a decade-old episode of "Matlock" than a thriller lensed a year ago. Some shots seem a bit softer than others, but all of these are presumably due to the source material, not the transfer...
Audio: Artisan has consistently done a great job with the audio in their DVD releases, and "Partners In Crime" is certainly among them. Most impressive is the score, which by itself isn't anything exceptional, but it is enveloping and sets the atmosphere well, along with some interesting uses of surrounds. The low-end, despite being a dialogue-driven film, is also well-represented, particularly with respect to the score (again) and the few gunshots. Hauer's naturally bassy voice roars from the speakers... I liked it, sir.
Extras: The only supplements are the traditional cast/crew bios and a trailer. The quality of the menus is above-average and worth noting.
Conclusion: In the somewhat crowded world of direct-to-video whodunnits, "Partners In Crime" stands out as one of the better entries I've seen. The film manages to be engaging through the use of interesting characters, fairly strong acting, and well-written dialogue rather than through a series of unnecessary overblown action sequences. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and as such, I highly recommend as a rental and recommend it as a purchase, although the retail price of $29.99 seems way too high.
Unnecessary observation: There's an in-joke in the film that I thought was hilarious, although most would overlook it. Porizkova's character is named Wallis P. Longsworth, and Reardon and his daughter have a brief discussion about what the 'P' stands for. Unless I'm reaching way too far, this is a reference to the Rentals' minor hit "Friends of P", a song about an unidentified character named P, who Matt Sharp (the bassist and lead singer for the band) later revealed to be Paulina Porizkova. (Sharp also played bass for Weezer, whose debut album was produced by Porizkova's husband, ex-Cars frontman Ric Ocasek.)
There's quite a glut of similar thrillers in the DVD market, and although the revelation of the guilty in "Partners In Crime" is far from surprising, there's enough going on in the film to keep it interesting from beginning to end. Usually these sorts of films really drag between the crime itself and the inevitable shootout, but "Partners In Crime" manages to remain engaging throughout, and the shootout itself is far different than the extended, frantic battles to which I'm accustomed. I'm not saying that "Partners In Crime" is groundbreaking or innovative, but it's a much better way to spend 90 minutes than most of the whodunnits out there.
Video: "Partners In Crime" is full-frame (to be expected, as I believe it was a direct-to-video release), and although its relatively-low-budget origins show through from time to time, overall, the film looks rather nice. There is very little in the way of dust and specks, although one shot of a plane is marred with such flaws and seems grossly out-of-place. The color palette throughout seems a bit inconsistent, with some scenes seeming vibrant and full and others seeming dull, appearing more like a decade-old episode of "Matlock" than a thriller lensed a year ago. Some shots seem a bit softer than others, but all of these are presumably due to the source material, not the transfer...
Audio: Artisan has consistently done a great job with the audio in their DVD releases, and "Partners In Crime" is certainly among them. Most impressive is the score, which by itself isn't anything exceptional, but it is enveloping and sets the atmosphere well, along with some interesting uses of surrounds. The low-end, despite being a dialogue-driven film, is also well-represented, particularly with respect to the score (again) and the few gunshots. Hauer's naturally bassy voice roars from the speakers... I liked it, sir.
Extras: The only supplements are the traditional cast/crew bios and a trailer. The quality of the menus is above-average and worth noting.
Conclusion: In the somewhat crowded world of direct-to-video whodunnits, "Partners In Crime" stands out as one of the better entries I've seen. The film manages to be engaging through the use of interesting characters, fairly strong acting, and well-written dialogue rather than through a series of unnecessary overblown action sequences. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and as such, I highly recommend as a rental and recommend it as a purchase, although the retail price of $29.99 seems way too high.
Unnecessary observation: There's an in-joke in the film that I thought was hilarious, although most would overlook it. Porizkova's character is named Wallis P. Longsworth, and Reardon and his daughter have a brief discussion about what the 'P' stands for. Unless I'm reaching way too far, this is a reference to the Rentals' minor hit "Friends of P", a song about an unidentified character named P, who Matt Sharp (the bassist and lead singer for the band) later revealed to be Paulina Porizkova. (Sharp also played bass for Weezer, whose debut album was produced by Porizkova's husband, ex-Cars frontman Ric Ocasek.)
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