Bird on a Wire seemed to have the ingredients for a fun action-comedy with the starpowers, especially for 1990, of both Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn, however despite their individual charms they really didn’t share great chemistry.
Bird on a Wire
(1990)
Genre(s): Action, Comedy
Kino Lorber| R – 111 min. – $24.95 | September 21, 2021
Date Published: 11/07/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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Kino Lorber 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 — 2¾/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Rick Jarmin (MEL GIBSON) is put in witness protection after he helps the FBI bust drug dealer Eugene Sorenson (DAVID CARRADINE). Fifteen years later, he is living with a new identity as a gas station attendant in Detroit. When an old flame named Marianne (GOLDIE HAWN) stops by and recognizes him, his cover gets blown. The recently released Sorenson finds out, and both Jarmin and Marianne have to flee across the country with the vengeful Sorenson in hot pursuit. Quick Hit Review: There were probably no bigger stars in the late 80s and early 90s than Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn and so it would seem putting these two together, along with John Badham (Saturday Night Fever, Stakeout) directing, that Bird on a Wire would be a fun action-rom-com. While certainly watchable and seemingly both Gibson and Hawn having fun, neither had great chemistry together, the story was on the thin side and the action was pretty forgettable, as was the film on the whole. Outside of Gibson and Hawn, the villain is also pretty weak. David Carradine plays just a drug lord of sorts and doesn’t get a whole lot to work with and wasn’t exactly formidable or particularly scary, compared with, say, Aidan Quinn in Stakeout who was chilling as the psychopathic killer. Bill Duke appears as Carradine’s right-hand-man who does get a gnarly (albeit off-screen) death. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1¾/5 |
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Not a whole lot but there is an Audio Commentary with Director John Badham, Producer/Second Unit Director Rob Cohen and Film Historian/Filmmaker Daniel Kremer and the Theatrical Trailer. |
VIDEO – 4¾/5 |
| This new release of Bird on a Wire comes from Kino Lorber where it has received a new 1080p high-definition transfer of the original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio, taken from the 2K scan of the InterPositive. For the most part this is a great looking picture. Detail was sharp and well defined and colors were well balanced and the natural film grain still present. On the slight downside, I did notice some strange grid pattern in a couple shots (not quite something like artifacts, however) that was pretty apparent as it was a long take shot. Other than that, though, it’s still a solid transfer. |
AUDIO – 4½/5 |
| The included DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo track is fairly strong providing clear dialogue levels along with fine depth for a track like this (not to mention a 31 year old film) with the various action sequences including the finale taking place inside a zoo. |
OVERALL – 3¼/5 |
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Bird on a Wire seemed to have the ingredients for a fun action-comedy with the starpowers, especially for 1990, of both Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn, however despite their individual charms they really didn’t share great chemistry, had a thin story and the action wasn’t all that impressive. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.