Catch the Bullet Blu-ray Review

THE MOVIE — 1¼/5

Plot Synopsis: Britt MacMasters (JAY PICKETT), a U.S. Marshall, returns from a mission to find his father (TOM SKERRITT) wounded and his son, Chad (MASON MCNULTY), kidnapped by the outlaw Jed Blake (GATTLIN GRIFFITH). Hot on their trail, Britt forms a posse with a gun slinging deputy and a stoic Pawnee tracker. But both Jed and Britt tread dangerously close to the Red Desert’s Sioux territory, which poses a menace far greater than either can imagine.

Quick Hit Review: They say the western genre is dead and while I wouldn’t call myself a fan of the genre, I don’t mind expanding my horizons and check out the odd western that comes down the pike today. The latest is Catch the Bullet and I knew I was in for a painful time from the first few minutes. The dialogue is poorly written, the script filled with cliché after cliché and the acting either too subdued or way over-the-top. Then you add in the numerous goofs from the era like modern windows or worse, the super clean wardrobe, and you have a movie that is just bad all around.

The acting from Jay Pickett (who I found out passed away last year) was lackluster, Tom Skerritt looked like he wanted to be anywhere else (and probably shot his scenes in a day) and Peter Facinelli is a non-factor in his minimal role (despite being front and center on the cover art).

I’ll guess director Michael Feifer has a passion for the western but this is one film to skip and just check out some of the classics like Unforgiven, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, etc.

SPECIAL FEATURES – ½/5

This release comes with a matted slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. The only feature is the film’s Trailer (1:59).

VIDEO – 3¾/5, AUDIO – 3½/5

Catch the Bullet rides onto Blu-ray presented with a bland 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio. While it’s understandable that this 19th-century era Western wouldn’t produce amazing colors, but I expected some scope which wasn’t here. On the plus side, the close-up details, such as the super clean, store bought, clothes was sharp. Some of the more distant shots isn’t as finely detailed but still decent.

The disc includes a basic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Dialogue comes across okay through the center channel and there is some so-so depth whenever characters are “riding” through a scene or just lying around with nature using the rear channels, along with the generic western score.

OVERALL – 1/5

Catch the Bullet was just an ill-fated Western-thriller that features subpar acting from a C-level cast who, in fairness, were not helped by bad dialogue and an overall screenplay. I’m sure director Michael Feifer had the best intentions but did not have the know-how to deliver even an average western.