Hired to Kill is dumb, poorly written and terribly acted action film from the tail-end of the 1980s but even though it doesn’t measure up to the guilty pleasures like Cobra, Commando or Raw Deal, it still has some appeal thanks in part to a semi-hamfest performance from Oliver Reed.
Hired to Kill
(1990)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Action
Arrow Video | NR – 96 min. – $39.95 | May 17, 2016
Date Published: 05/19/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE – 3.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Frank Ryan (BRIAN THOMPSON) is a mercenary hired by NSA spook Thomas (GEORGE KENNEDY) to enter a South American country, destabilize the government ruled by the ruthless Bartos (OLIVER REED) and rescue a revolutionary hero, Rallis (JOSE FERRER), though in reality it isn’t a rescue but instead a murder as it would be best for both them and us… or something like that. The catch for Ryan is, he’s to pose as a world renowned fashion designer and accompanying him are seven women, each with a specific skill set, who are to be his models: Sheila (BARBARA LEE ALEXANDER), Joanna (JORDANA CAPRA), Daphne (KENDALL CONRAD), Sivi (KIM LONSDALE), Dahlia (JUDE MUSSETTER), Katrina (PENELOPE REED) and Tara (ANGELA GEREKOU) and they are joined by Thomas’ inside woman, Ana (MICHELLE MOFFATT), who has established an intimate relationship with Bartos. Quick Hit Review: Hired to Kill obviously isn’t a very good movie. The acting is bad, the dialogue somehow even worse and star Brian Thompson is no Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, there’s something charming about a film that exemplifies the 1980s action picture, often times the warts are the reason it’s so damn entertaining. It also doesn’t hurt seeing the likes of Oliver Reed chewing the scenery while George Kennedy clearly needed to make a payment on his house. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
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This two-disc release (BD, DVD) comes housed in Arrow’s usual clear Blu-ray Keep Case and a reversible cover of the original poster artwork. Inside is a nice essay booklet. Audio Commentary – Editor Barry Zetlin sits down, moderated by Michael Felsher, to offer his insights into the movie some 25 years later as well as his career. Hired to Direct (27:26; HD) is a new, and fairly extensive, interview with director Nico Mastorakis on the making of Hired to Kill. Undercover Mercenary (17:33; HD) – Here we get another new interview, this time with star Brian Thompson where he discusses the movie and his character and career. Stills Gallery (7:18; HD) which just has some promotional footage from the set. Theatrical Trailer (2:50; HD) |
VIDEO – 3.75/5 |
| Arrow Video releases Hired to Kill onto Blu-ray presented with a 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and 1080p high-definition transfer (AVC codec). Although there are times the picture seemed bleached out, it’s not an altogether terrible transfer. Colors seemed decently bright and detail was fairly sharp even with some of the natural film grain that permeates some scenes, especially darkly lit ones. |
AUDIO – 3.75/5 |
| The movie comes with a basic but serviceable PCM 2.0 track (the back cover lists a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track but it’s only Dolby Digital 5.1). The dialogue levels sound crisp and clear throughout and even the generic 1980s score doesn’t sound too bad. There were no hisses or other ailments making for a generally pleasing lossless track. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5 |
| Overall, Hired to Kill is dumb, poorly written and terribly acted action film from the tail-end of the 1980s (yeah, I know it was released 1990 but it had all the earmarks of the ‘80s) but even though it doesn’t measure up to the guilty pleasures like Cobra, Commando or Raw Deal, it still has some appeal thanks in part to a semi-hamfest performance from Oliver Reed. This two-disc release by Arrow Video offers above average video and audio transfers and a fair amount of bonus material. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.