The Doorman doesn’t have a whole lot new to offer in the thriller genre as it is filled with plenty of clichés, but I still found it relatively entertaining even if the material isn’t anything unique.
The Doorman
(2020)
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Crime
Lionsgate | R – 97 min. – $21.99 | October 13, 2020
Date Published: 10/20/2020 | Author: The Movieman
|
|
|||||||||||
Lionsgate provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3/5 |
|
Plot Synopsis: A former Marine (RUBY ROSE) turned doorman at a luxury New York City high-rise must outsmart and battle a group of art thieves and their ruthless leader (JEAN RENO) – while struggling to protect her sister’s family. As the thieves become increasingly desperate and violent, the doorman calls upon her deadly fighting skills to end the showdown. Quick Hit Review: Generally speaking, I like Ruby Rose. She’s not the strongest actress around and her skills at leading a feature film are questionable (one of the many reasons Batwoman faltered), however given the right material, she can excel. With The Doorman she does give a fine performance with a character who is minimally fleshed out, but it’s her fight skills, in combination with her stunt person, where the film does at least moderately work. That said, if you didn’t care for her as an actress, doubt this movie will change your mind. Adding to the cast is Jean Reno, reminding us that while a bit, not meaning to be mean, plumper compared to his heyday in the 1990s, is still alive and relatively well. Not a whole lot going on with his character, he’s not especially intimidating so never really perceived him as a great threat (in fact his right-hand henchman is certainly nastier) but it’s always nice to see him in a decent sized role. Everything else about The Doorman is standard action-thriller affair, filled with clichés and is rather predictable in many spots. That being said, I still was relatively entertained and fine as a 95-minute time-waster, the kind of film that will probably land on TNT or whatever with minimal edits. In any case, as I said, I do like Ruby Rose and although she doesn’t quite shine and I believe she is better served in a supporting role, but still holds her own well enough for the material. At best I would say this might be worth a rental, however keep your expectations in check. The Doorman was directed by Ryûhei Kitamura whose credits include The Midnight Meat Train and No One Lives with a script (including story writing) by no less than five writers, two of which marking their debuts. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2/5 |
|
This release comes with a glossy slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. The only item included is In Service of Others: Reflections of the Cast (12:13) behind-the-scenes featurette. |
VIDEO – 4½/5 |
| Lionsgate releases The Doorman onto Blu-ray where the film is shown with a 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. For the most part this is a pleasant looking picture, detail is sharp and nicely defined especially for the close-ups and there is a good balance of bright colors while inside the apartment while black levels are deep in the darkly-lit locations. |
AUDIO – 4¼/5 |
| The disc includes a Dolby TrueHD 5.1. It’s a pretty standard lossless track but efficient; dialogue comes across with good clarity and there is some modest depth for the action and fight sequences. There’s nothing especially outstanding here however it’s still decent enough for a light action-thriller. |
OVERALL – 2¾/5 |
|
The Doorman doesn’t have a whole lot new to offer in the thriller genre as it is filled with plenty of clichés, but I still found it relatively entertaining even if the material isn’t anything unique. I did like Ruby Rose here even if she’s not the strongest actress while Jean Reno is nice to see but not an entirely effective villain. |