Into the Ashes had some potential but the first 35-40 minutes were meandering at best, dull at worst and nothing in the remaining hour could make up for it, though even then, some storytelling choices were a bit odd.
Into the Ashes
(2019)
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Crime
RLJ Entertainment | NR – 97 min. – $29.97 | September 3, 2019
Date Published: 09/11/2019 | Author: The Movieman
|
|
|||||||||||
RLJ Entertainment 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 — 2.25/5 |
|
Plot Synopsis: With an honest job and a loving wife (MARGUERITE MOREAU), Nick Brenner (LUKE GRIMES) believed he had safely escaped his violent, criminal history. But his old crew (FRANK GRILLO, DAVID CADE) hasn’t forgotten about him or the money he stole, and when they take what Nick now values the most – his wife – he has nothing left to lose. Confronted by the town sheriff (ROBERT TAYLOR), who is also his father-in-law, Nick must decide if he will stay on his new path or indulge in his need for revenge and force his enemies to pay for what they have done. Quick Hit Review: Into the Ashes is a supposed to be a slow burn thriller but instead it’s just plain slow, especially the first 38-minutes (yes I checked) before the actual plot got rolling. Then there’s the issue of being inconsistent filmmaking, including skipping a key scene which then would be revealed through a flashback, something not used until the last third of the movie and at the very end, not exactly showing us the conclusion of our key character. But peculiarly yet, the film does finish with a voice-over by Robert Taylor who never provided any narration prior (and there was none at all from any character). I can only think writer-director was a fan of Longmire and wanted to Robert Taylor’s modern-western voice… On the plus side of things, for the most part I did find the performances to be pretty good. Luke Grimes is a bit too much like Emile Hirsch meaning doesn’t come across enough like a bad apple turning over a new leaf, but he was serviceable as the lead. James Badge Dale is rather underrated (just watch Michael Bay’s 13 Hours) and honestly would have preferred him as Nick instead. James Taylor, as I mentioned, kind of just plays Walt Longmire. Last but certainly not least, Frank Grillo as always is a force and only a shame he didn’t get a larger part. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.25/5 |
|
This release comes with a title-embossed slip cover. Not a ton of bonus material, but there are two featurettes: Building the Fire: The Making of Into the Ashes (12:26) and Shooting the South: On Location (7:57). |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| RLJ Entertainment releases Into the Ashes onto Blu-ray presented with a 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and has been given a 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture for the most part looks decent, detail was sharp throughout and colors were on the more muted side in keeping with the western-like locales. There was a little bit of banding present in at least one transitioning scene but otherwise it’s a clean looking picture. |
AUDIO – 3.75/5 |
| The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track was functional but nothing amazing. The bulk of the movie is either quiet or filled with dialogue with a few bouts of depth with some gunfire. Although this won’t give your home theater much of a workout, still was adequate. |
OVERALL – 2.5/5 |
|
Overall, Into the Ashes had some potential but the first 35-40 minutes were meandering at best, dull at worst and nothing in the remaining hour could make up for it, though even then, some storytelling choices were a bit odd. This Blu-ray from RLJ Entertainment offers up passable video and audio transfers and two so-so featurettes. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.