Bounty Hunters features the sexy and cool Trish Stratus and although she’s not a great actress, she does have some mad fight skills even of those sequences aren’t well choreographed often times looking awfully fake. Aside from Stratus, however, this was neither a well made movie nor one that’s particularly entertaining.
Bounty Hunters (2011)
Genre(s): Crime, Suspense/Thriller, Drama, Comedy
MPI | R – 79 min. – $24.98 | April 2, 2013
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Patrick McGrearty
Writer(s): Reese Eveneshen (written by)
Cast: Trish Stratus, Frank J. Zupancic, Boomer Phillips, Andrea James Lui, Enrico DiFede, Joe Rafla
DISC INFO:
Features: 2 Audio Commentaries, Featurettes, Trailer
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.78
Subtitles: English
Disc Size: 20.0 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE – 2.0/5
Plot Outline: Bounty Hunters is a sexy ride through crime-infested streets where everyone has a price. Jules (TRISH STRATUS) and her team of bail enforcement agents (FRANK J. ZUPANCIC and BOOMER PHILLIPS) struggle to make ends meet until they find what seems like an easy job: deliver a mob informant to the police and claim a $100,000 reward. But when the mob has its own proposition and gives Jules a choice: hand over the captive and walk away with a million dollars or face death at the hands of the underworld’s finest. Now Jules and her gang must use every fighting skill they possess in a brutal, all-out battle for survival.
Quick Hit Review: First things first, wrestler Trish Stratus’ feature debut actually wasn’t bad. No, she’s not a very good actress but as far as wrestler’s go, she’s not half bad and is far better than somebody like “The Miz” whom I recently seen in The Marine 3. However, she’s also doesn’t receive much help from her supporting cast or the screenplay by Reese Evenshen. Not that the plot is anything profound or complicated, but this was an amateurish job all around. Still, I’m sure some viewers will enjoy it for its campiness and for Trish Stratus who is at times stunning especially in her “waitress” uniform at the strip club.
All in all, it’s not a terrible movie but it has very little redeeming values except, I will say, the fight sequences aren’t too bad, though there are a few that looked and felt staged (go figure). Stratus isn’t bad in the lead role but like those who came before her, save for Dwayne Johnson, she’s not a natural, but she at least possesses some charisma, albeit set against a supporting cast who lack personality. Bounty Hunters is at best a Red Box rental.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5
The DVD version was released last year but rather than merely porting over the limited features, MPI has added more…
Audio Commentaries – The first of the two tracks features actresses Trish Stratus and Andrea James Lui and the chatter of course is friendly and mostly superficial but the pair of ladies are fun to listen to, but don’t go in expecting to learn much; the second track is much more technical with director Patrick McBrearty and Producer Chad Archibald but this one is also relatively relaxed but more informative. ** Blu-ray Exclusives **
Interview with Trish Stratus (5:02; SD) – This is a basic interview, intermixed with scenes from the movie, with Stratus as to what drew her to the role and learning a new kind of fighting.
Epic Fight: Behind the Scenes (3:28; SD) breaks down the fight scene between Stratus and Andrea Lui, but in a fly-on-the-wall fashion rather than with intermittent sound bites.
Trish on “The Score” (17:18; SD) – There’s apparently a show called “The Score” and Stratus appears on it to advertise the DVD release and do some Q&A with the host. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **
Trish at Actionfest 2011 (0:33) is a short featurette showing Stratus at the festival (well, outside) looking at the fan lineup. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **
Trailer (1:38)
VIDEO – 4.0/5
MPI Home Video releases Bounty Hunters onto Blu-ray presented with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and a relatively decent 1080p high-definition transfer. This movie looks like it was shot digitally and certainly has that feel as there’s nary a sign of natural film grain or noise. There’s also no artifacting or pixilation and the detail levels are pretty good, although nothing extraordinary. Having sampled the DVD before, this is a step above.
AUDIO – 3.75/5
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track isn’t anything noteworthy but at least serviceable providing decent surrounds for the different action and fight sequences (though the balance is heavy in the front channels) and the dialogue levels sound nice and clear. As I said, it’s not a spectacular lossless track but compared with the standard 5.1 Dolby Digital version, it’s at least a modest upgrade.
OVERALL – 2.5/5
Overall, Bounty Hunters features the sexy and cool Trish Stratus and although she’s not a great actress, she does have some mad fight skills even of those sequences aren’t well choreographed often times looking awfully fake. Aside from Stratus, however, this was neither a well made movie nor one that’s particularly entertaining. I guess if you’re a fan of the former wrestler, the 75-minute running time might be worth it, otherwise I’d recommend skipping this one.
Published: 03/15/2013