By the Gun is a well intentioned but ultimately lifeless and clichéd crime-drama. Ben Barnes turns in a fine performance and anytime we see Harvey Keitel is a treat but otherwise the writing isn’t up to snuff and the direction is relatively standard.
By the Gun
(2014)
Genre(s): Crime, Drama
Anchor Bay | R – 110 min. – $24.99 | January 20, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: James Mottern Writer(s): Emilio Mauro (written by) Cast: Ben Barnes, Leighton Meester, Slaine, Ritchie Coster, Kenny Wormald, Toby Jones, Harvey KeitelDISC INFO: Features: Commentary, Deleted Scenes Digital Copy: No Number of Discs: 1Audio: English (Dolby TrueHD 5.1) Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.40 Subtitles: English SDH Disc Size: 30.5 GB Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Region(s): A |
PLOT SUMMARY
Nick Tortano (BEN BARNES) is a young and ambitious mafia criminal whose life spirals out of control once he becomes a made-man. With the lives of his girlfriend (LEIGHTON MEESER), family and friends at risk, he faces a difficult decision: continue to pursue his criminal ambitions or concentrate on the people he loves. He can’t have it both ways, but Nick is determined to gun down anyone in his path.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5
The features are relatively light but we do get an Audio Commentary with Director James Mottern, Writer Emilio Mauro and Actor Ben Barnes which is insightful and informative and a set of Deleted Scenes (9:57; HD).
VIDEO – 4.0/5
Millennium Entertainment releases By the Gun onto Blu-ray presented with a 1080p high-definition transfer and a 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio. The picture is pretty standard for something I assume was filmed digitally where the transfer appears clean and no signs of artifacts or aliasing and there’s only minimal amount of noise yet still detail levels do look sharp.
AUDIO – 4.25/5
The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is effective providing clear dialogue mainly through the center speaker while the front and rears are reserved for ambient noises, including gunshots and other mob-centric violence, as well as the generic crime-drama score by Nathan Whitehead (The Purge).
OVERALL – 2.5/5
Overall, By the Gun is a well intentioned but ultimately lifeless and clichéd crime-drama. Ben Barnes turns in a fine performance and anytime we see Harvey Keitel is a treat but otherwise the writing isn’t up to snuff and the direction is relatively standard. The Blu-ray does have good video/audio transfers while the commentary track highlights the limited bonus material.
Published: 01/14/2015