Bandits Blu Ray Review (MGM)

Bandits is a 2001 dark comedy produced and directed by Barry Levinson (Good Morning Vietnam, Rain Man, Diner, Bugsy, Sleepers, Man of the Year, Sphere, and The Natural). it was written and executive produced by Harley Peyton (Twin Peaks, Less than Zero, Chucky, Channel Zero, and Dracula). It’s loosely based on real life criminals. The budget was $75,000,000 and it grossed $67,631,903 worldwide at the box office. Career criminals and professional bank robbers Joe Blake (played by: Bruce Willis from the Die Hard franchise, Pulp Fiction, The Last Boy Scout, 12 Monkeys, Last Man Standing, and The Sixth Sense) and Terry Collins (played by: Billy Bob Thornton from Goliath, Sling Blade, Fargo, Bad Santa franchise, The Ice Harvest, and A Simple Plan) have the perfect bank robbery scheme that has worked every time until they meet an eccentric bored housewife Kate Wheeler (played by: Cate Blanchett from The Lord of the Rings franchise, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Gift, Thor: Ragnarok, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Robin Hood) that changes everything. The two friends start competing for her attention and it creates a friendly rivalry between them. The media follows their captivating story and it spreads the word of their crimes as they struggle to get along!!!! Bandits is beyond underrated. I know it didn’t do great at the box office and it kinda got buried after that. It takes some true crime and it mixes it with some dark comedy. Bandits has a little bit of everything in it such as action, romance, drama, crime, and humor. Director Barry Levinson does some of his best work in Bandits and no one really knows it these days. Bruce Willis is great as the rugged Joe Blake. He’s the muscle and dangerous threat when it comes to this bank robbing duo. Billy Bob Thornton is hilarious as the neurotic Terry Collins. He’s the brains and the one always prepared for this criminal combination. He has all kinds of issues that usually add to the laughs but he’s really trying to be better. Cate Blanchett basically steals the show as the lonely Kate Wheeler. Joe and Terry didn’t plan on adding to their crew but the desperate housewife doesn’t take no for an answer. She looks amazing as a redhead, it’s one of my personal favorite characters from the skilled Oscar winner. All 3 of these leads have incredible chemistry together and it’s what really drives this production. It’s perfect casting for these roles. The rest of the supporting cast includes Troy Garity (Barbershop franchise), Brían F. O’Byrne (Brotherhood), Stacey Travis (Phantasm II), Bobby Slayton (Loser), January Jones (Mad Men), Richard Riehle (Casino), Azura Skye (One Missed Call), Peggy Miley (Stranger Things), Sven-Ole Thorsen (Hard Target), and William Converse-Roberts (Kiss the Girls). Bandits is packed with so many funny moments. I enjoyed the differences when Kate Wheeler was with each thief. You got to see another side of each lead which made it more fascinating. It’s ahead of it’s time with the Bandits going viral and their popularity increases with each crime. That wasn’t really used as much in films. Bandits covers a variety of sub-genres so I feel like almost anyone would like it because it doesn’t just stick to one thing. It’s so much fun and always entertaining. It has very impressive replay value to it, it gets better with each revisit. It truly deserves a resurrection because there’s an audience but I bet they just never heard of this one so maybe this re-release will change that. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from MGM!!!! This 1080p (2.35:1) transfer is a quality upgrade compared to the original older DVD release that I had. It’s definitely much sharper when it comes to the visuals here. It’s the same 2016 restoration that was used on the original Olive Films blu ray release from awhile back. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The audio is much better than expected. It has some quality action every once in awhile in Bandits and those scenes really stand out. All of the dialogue is very crisp, the comedy is elevated, and the music has a great boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. Unfortunately, there’s no special features on this home video release that were carried over from any previous version. Despite it’s artwork that’s listed almost everywhere for this blu ray, it’s actually not a BD-R, it might still be considered M.O.D. because it’s limited amount produced but it’s actually pro pressed just like most of MGM’s current recent catalog title releases. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!