Trauma Center is, and this is not saying much, not the worst of these DTV releases I’ve watched, but it’s on the forgettable side with Bruce Willis mailing it in (again), although I did like Nicky Whelan in the lead.
Trauma Center
(2019)
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Crime
Lionsgate | R – 87 min. – $21.99 | February 4, 2020
Date Published: 02/02/2020 | Author: The Movieman
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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 — 2.5/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Lt. Wakes (BRUCE WILLIS) is a police detective determined to solve the murders of his partner and an informant. Wakes joins forces with Madison (NICKY WHELAN), a witness injured during the shooting of his partner, after the killers pursue her across the abandoned floor of a hospital and confirm Wake’s worst fears: the two men (TEXAS BATTLE, TITO ORTIZ) are actually corrupt vice cops covering up a crime. Quick Hit Review: Trauma Center is yet another direct-to-video flick from Grindstone Entertainment (well, technically, probably got a single screen release) and it wasn’t terrible. Now it wasn’t all that memorable either.
This is another film where Bruce Willis more or less sleepwalks through his role, although at least the editing was halfway competent to where it looked like Willis was fighting in one scene, plus the dialogue wasn’t nearly as stilted as it was in 10 Minutes Gone, so there’s that. Also, he was at more than two locations, big upgrade where he’s relegated to one or two spots. Only thing I did notice, Willis did have a cut over his right eye, not sure if that happened during a stunt in a previous production or he did it in normal life and they didn’t bother covering it up. On the positive front, I did like Nicky Whelan in the lead role even though most of the film has her in a hospital gown hobbling down deserted hallways and/or grimacing in pain. The performance might not be stellar, but in a film of this low caliber, she does the best she could given the material.
The premise of the movie is simplistic which in some respects I appreciate as sometimes filmmakers overcomplicate things, adding in elements that don’t amount to much as a whole. Here, the only criticism is the addition of the main character’s sister whose only reason being there, taken to the hospital after a asthma attack, was to be taken by the bad guys as leverage to lure Madison out. I will say, I suppose her presence comes around at the end using a certain item to distract one of the villains. In the end, Trauma Center, under the direction of Matt Eskandari, isn’t bad. But it’s not good either and rather forgettable. Bruce Willis mails it in once again though I suppose gives a better “performance” compared to some of his other DTV flicks. For her part, Nicky Whelan was one of the few highlights. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 0.5/5 |
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This release comes with a glossy and embossed slip cover. The only feature is the Trailer (2:37). |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Lionsgate releases Trauma Center onto Blu-ray presented with a 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio (although measured to 2.38) and given a 1080p high-definition transfer. More or less, this looks on par with other direct-to-video releases, detail is respectable enough but hardly anything amazing while colors are more on the cooler side, especially in the darker scenes on the abandoned hospital floors, and skin tones appear to be natural. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The movie includes a DTS-HD Master 5.1 track which shows off crisp and clear dialogue through the center speaker and the front and rear channels are mostly used for the ambient noises, as well as some gun shots that either ring through an alley or inside the hospital. It’s nothing incredible nor does it push one’s surround system to the limits, but certainly more than sufficient for a movie like this. |
OVERALL – 2.0/5 |
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Trauma Center is, and this is not saying much, not the worst of these Grindstone Entertainment releases I’ve watched, and I’ve seen my fair number of them thus far, but it’s on the forgettable side with Bruce Willis mailing it in (again), although I did like Nicky Whelan in the lead and does the best she could. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.