Silent Night Blu Ray Review (Lionsgate)
Silent Night is a 2023 revenge film produced and directed by John Woo (A Better Tomorrow 1/2, The Killer, Hard Boiled, Bullet in the Head, Hard Target, Broken Arrow, Paycheck, Face/Off, and Mission Impossible 2). It was written by Robert Archer Lynn (Already Dead, Prisoner, Deadbox, and Adrenaline). It was produced by Tony Mark (The Hurt Locker, The Fisher King, Most Wanted, Vendetta, Scary Movie 2, Once Upon a time in Mexico, and Ultraviolet) and Joe Gatta (Drive Angry, Conan the Barbarian, Out of the Furnace, and Horns). This was John Woo’s first American film in 20 years after Paycheck in 2003. The budget was $30 million and it grossed $11+ million worldwide at the box office. Brian Godlock (played by: Joel Kinnaman from the Suicide Squad franchise, RoboCop, The Killing, For All Mankind, Safe House, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Run All Night, and House of Cards) is an electrician living a normal life in Texas with his wife Saya (played by: Catalina Sandino Moreno from Maria Full of Grace, A Most Violent Year, From, Barbarians, Incarnate, The Affair, and At the Devil’s Door) and young son Taylor Michael. On Christmas Eve in 2021, Brian and Taylor are playing with a new bicycle in their yard. They are caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting during a gang war. Taylor is unfortunately killed during this. Brian immediately goes out for revenge. He tries to kill gang leader Playa (played by: Harold Torres from Memory, Run Coyote Run, Texas Rising, Barbarous Mexico, The ABCs of Death, and El Chapo) but he gets shot in the throat and left for dead. Brian somehow survives but his vocal cords have been severely damaged. Brian and Saya grow distant after Taylor’s death. She ends up leaving Brian after failing to get along after the tragedy. At one point, Brian visita Detective Dennis Vassel (played by: Kid Cudi from Bill & Ted Face the Music, House Party, X, Need for Speed, Creepshow, and Westworld), who offered to help in his son’s case. Brian instead uses this opportunity to gather information on Playa’s gang and sets up his revenge. He trains with weapons, intense driving, and works out to be ready for the vicious criminals. His vengeance won’t go away and he wants to kill everyone involved in his son’s death. Will he survive all of this? or Will he join his son in the afterlife???? 
Silent Night unfortunately flopped at the box office and most critics weren’t very positive on it. I personally think Silent Night is much better than what people give it credit for. Legendary action director John Woo returns to America after 20 long years. No one makes these types of films like he does. Woo is a true pioneer and original when it comes to the action and crime sub-genres. He did this one outside a major studio so he could have full control on the project. I think that the general audience was turned off by this unique concept. The main character can’t talk so this wild action feature is basically a silent film hence it’s name which also plays on the holidays where it takes place. Silent Night quickly becomes one of my favorite recent Christmas movies and I definitely plan on adding it to the watchlist every year. I enjoy that there’s not much dialogue here and it’s just non stop action for the most part. Lots of criminals, Killers, and gangsters are all interesting in this. Not your typical cookie cutter or standard thugs. I think it worked better using more unknown and smaller actors to portray those roles especially considering most of them are usually stuntmen. Lead actor Joel Kinnaman was great in Silent Night. He plays a normal guy that transforms himself into a bad ass for revenge for his family. Joel Kinnaman has been killing it lately and this one is no different. The revenge sub-genre is always a blast to watch. It’s loaded with all kinds of action, violence, and straight up bloody entertainment with it’s brutally fun visuals. I’ve seen Harold Torres in a few things before this but he really stands out here as the main villain. It has a solid supporting cast that includes Kid Cudi and Catalina Sandino Moreno. Silent Night was one of the most underrated films of last year. I really hope that it gets more attention and maybe a cult following later on because it deserves it. RECOMMENDED!!!! 
Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Lionsgate! This 1080p (2.00:1) transfer really shines on blu ray. It has excellent cinematography, gritty production design, and crazy action visuals that stand out here. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby Atmos and English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 on the disc. The audio is even better than the crisp picture quality, it’s the true highlight when it comes to the technical aspects of this home video release. The rare bit of dialogue when used here is very clean, the gruesome action has a killer boost, and the music is elevated here. It has English SDH and Spanish subtitles. “Actions Speak Louder Than Words” is almost 17 minutes. It’s a nice behind the scenes promotional piece that has interviews with the cast and crew for Silent Night. It has the “Theatrical Trailer”. It also comes with a slipcover, a digital code, and a DVD copy of the release. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!! 
