Crazy Six Blu Ray Review (MVD Marquee)

Crazy Six is a 1997 crime film directed by Albert Pyun (Mean Guns, Blast, Nemesis franchise, & Cyborg). It was written by Galen Yuen (Riot & Vanishing Son). It was produced by Tom Karnowski (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, A Good Day to Die Hard, Max Payne, & The Man with the Iron Fists), Gary Schmoeller (Return of the Living Dead III, Ghoulies IV, Omega Doom, & Heatseeker), & Paul Rosenblum (Mean Guns, Blast, Ticker, Hong Kong 97, & Avenging Angelo).  The Eastern Bloc has fallen & Communism is dead. In its place has come new opportunity but not without a deadly price. Powerful Mafia families have emerged from the anarchy to vie for control of the lucrative underground weapons & technology trade. Billy aKa Crazy Six (played by: Rob Lowe from The Stand, The Outsiders, Wayne’s World, Tommy Boy, & Bad Influence) is a known junkie & hoodlum. He has a crew with his best friend Andrew (played by: Thom Mathews from Mean Guns, The Return of the Living Dead 1/2, Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI, & Blast) & Viyana (played by: Blanka Kleinova).

Gangster Dirty Mao (played by: Mario Van Peebles from New Jack City, Baadasssss!, Damages, Gunmen, & Jaws: The Revenge) gives the desperate criminals an inside tip & some help to rip off rival Drug Lord Raul (played by: Ice-T from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Mean Guns, Surviving the Game, Trespass, & Leprechaun in the Hood). This unlikely alliance doesn’t last long because Dirty Mao double crosses everyone & sets up a deadly chain of events. This leads to showdown between all these wild characters. Billy meets a singer at a club named Anna (played by: Ivana Milicevic from Casino Royale, Running Scared, Paycheck, Vanilla Sky, & Banshee). They make a connection & Billy gets some motivation to change his destructive ways. Detectives Dakota (played by: Burt Reynolds from Smokey and the Bandit trilogy, The Cannonball Run 1/2, The Longest Yard, Boogie Nights, & Sharky’s Machine) & Jerzy (played by: Norbert Weisser from The Thing, Midnight Express, Walker, & Schindler’s List) are investigating these crimes & they are trying to stop all this violence hitting the streets.  Who will survive this war?

Albert Pyun can turn nothing to something real quick. You have to appreciate what he achieves with such a low budget. This direct to video crime feature has a nice visual style to it. Both Rob Lowe & Burt Reynolds were at low points during their high profile careers while making this. Burt Reynolds got big comeback after this with Boogie Nights. Rob Lowe ended resurrecting himself through television. These two were the highlights when it comes to the performances in Crazy Six. I’ve never seen anything like this from Rob Lowe. He almost like a chameleon in this & he doesn’t really resemble himself here. Burt Reynolds is very fun with this role & elevates every scene he’s in. It’s great to see Thom Mathews have a big part in the film & he’s a good balance between all the crazy over the top characters in this. There’s never a dull moment & it has a good pace to it. It has some awesome action footage in this feature & you can’t go wrong with a Mexican standoff! Albert Pyun proves once again that he can keep you entertained & deliver all the goods when it comes to this genre!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from MVD Marquee. This 1080p (2.40:1) transfer looks GREAT & it’s a huge upgrade over the previous 2000 DVD from Sterling! This is a very stylish production & the cinematography from  George Mooradian (Dollman, Kickboxer 2/4, Crazy as Hell, & The Hitcher II: I’ve Been Waiting) really stands out here. The bright colors pop out on the screen & it grabs your attention right away. The original 2.0 stereo audio track is very clean when it comes to the dialogue. It’s a music driven film & one of the main characters is performing a decent amount here. Albert Pyun regular Anthony Riparetti handles the score for Crazy Six & it sounds awesome on the home set up with this track! It’s also a major improvement from all other home video releases. There’s no real extras here. You get a Trailer for the film plus other MVD trailers which include Black Eagle, Lionheart, Walking Tall, & Blast. MVD Marquee is providing blu ray treatment for features that usually would be ignored so the new label is definitely appreciated. This has a good cast & it’s a entertaining low budget direct to video crime flick. RECOMMENDED, it’s available everywhere next week!!!!