First Kill was admittedly a tad better than I expected but not due to the point-and-shoot direction, a poor script or even Bruce Willis who seemed to give more of a damn compared to his other Grindstone DTV films, but a genuinely charm-filled performance from Gethin Anthony.
First Kill
(2017)
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Crime
Lionsgate | R – 102 min. – $24.99 | September 5, 2017
Date Published: 08/31/2017 | Author: The Movieman
|
|
|||||||||||
THE MOVIE — 2.75/5 |
|
Plot Synopsis: In an attempt to reconnect with his son Donny (TY SHELTON), successful Wall Street broker Will (HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN) takes his family on a vacation to the cabin where Will grew up. While Will and Danny are hunting, their trip takes a deadly turn when they witness the murder of a crooked police officer as a bank robbery goes awry. When Danny is taken hostage by one of the other robbers, Levi (GETHIN ANTHONY), Will is forced to retrieve the money in exchange for his son all the while evading the local police chief Howell (BRUCE WILLIS) investigating the murder.
Note: This portion may contain some spoilers. Quick Hit Review: First Kill admittedly was entertaining. Terribly written mind you, but did hold some entertainment value nonetheless. But the reason I didn’t hate this movie wasn’t due to the two leads who were, well, kind of fillers but amazingly Gethin Anthony (best known for playing Charles Manson on Aquarius) as the hostage taker who was utterly charming and probably deserved to be in a better movie. There’s no surprise Hayden Christensen was merely okay, but it’s quite sad that the likes of Bruce Willis has sunk to these levels is unfortunate, though this being his eighth movie with the Grindstone Entertainment Group, it’s not too surprising. The film was directed by Steven C. Miller who I guess is Grindstone’s go-to guy following Arsenal (terrible if not for Nic Cage’s hilariously awful performance), Extraction and Marauders, the latter was average which isn’t saying a lot. This film is your typical point and shoot kind of thriller, and no real tension but beyond that, a plot that is filled with holes, worst of all, utterly predictable as I figured the twist within the first 15-minutes.
At best I would say First Kill is maybe worthy of a rental, just don’t go in with the greatest of expectations, of course not sure why a Hayden Christensen thriller vehicle would given anyone any sort of prospects… |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
|
This release comes with glossy, title-embossed, slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Audio Commentary – Director Steven C. Miller tends to be lively with his tracks I’ve found and this is no different offering up bits of info on the production. Behind the Scenes of First Kill (11:19; HD) takes us on location and features interviews with the cast and crew about the plot and characters. Deleted Scenes (5:26; HD) – Six scenes, for one reason or another, failed to make the final cut. Cast/Crew Interviews (1:02:13; HD):
Missing from the above are Hayden Christensen and Bruce Willis. Otherwise these are just extended sound bites featured in the BTS featurette. First Kill Trailer (2:15; HD) |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Lionsgate releases First Kill onto Blu-ray presented with a 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. This is a mostly pleasant looking picture where colors are generally bright and detail relatively sharp throughout. There were no noticeable instances of banding, artifacting, aliasing or other flaws. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The disc comes with your standard but sufficient DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 which outputs the generic score (by Ryan Franks/Scott Nickoley) just fine and when the gunfire gets going, especially during the finale, there is some impact with each shot and some modest usage of the LFE channel, otherwise nothing special. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5 |
|
Overall, First Kill was admittedly a tad better than I expected but not due to the point-and-shoot direction, a poor script or even Bruce Willis who seemed to give more of a damn compared to his other Grindstone DTV films, but a genuinely charm-filled performance from Gethin Anthony. As for this Blu-ray, the video is great and audio is above average while the features were alright. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.