Messenger of Death is an unusual turn for a Bronson film and is a bit more nuanced in terms of the story (vs. something like the Death Wish series) but performance wise he’s not bad and has one heck of an opening to draw in the audience.
Messenger of Death
(1988)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Drama, Crime
Olive Films | R – 91 min. – $29.95 | October 27, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: J. Lee Thompson Writer(s): Rex Burns (novel “The Avenging Angel”); Paul Jarrico (screenplay) Cast: Charles Bronson, Trish Van Devere, Laurence Luckinbill, Daniel Benzali, Marilyn Hassett, John Ireland DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 2.0) |
** Click Here to Purchase Messenger of Death on Blu-ray from Amazon.com **
PLOT SYNOPSIS
The brutal murder of three Mormon women and their children is just the tip of the iceberg as an investigative reporter digs into the seamy side of religious fanaticism and political corruption. Reporter Garret Smith (CHARLES BRONSON) with the help of local editor Jastra Watson (TRISH VAN DEVERE) set out to solve the horrific murders, which they believe may be linked to a fundamentalist sect whose excommunicated leader, Willis Beechum (JEFF COREY). Garret and Jastra discover just how deep still waters run as clues and the list of possible suspects start piling up.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 0.5/5
The only feature included is the Theatrical Trailer (1:27).
VIDEO – 3.25/5
Olive Films releases Messenger of Death onto Blu-ray shown in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. This might not be the prettiest looking picture but details aren’t too bad though there is a fair amount of noise present plus I noticed several instances of dust marks so obviously, but unsurprisingly, not much work was done. I don’t have the DVD to compare this with but I have to assume it is a nice step up in quality.
AUDIO – 3.75/5
The movie comes with a decent DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track which isn’t fantastic but gets the job done. Dialogue generally comes across clear and the occasional action-oriented scenes give the track a little depth but nothing outstanding. There were no discernible hissing so it was clean enough.
OVERALL – 2.5/5
Overall, Messenger of Death is an unusual turn for a Bronson film and is a bit more nuanced in terms of the story (vs. something like the Death Wish series) but performance wise he’s not bad and has one heck of an opening to draw in the audience. The Blu-ray from Olive is basic with only a trailer but fine video/audio transfers.
Published: 11/02/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.