The Doorman Blu Ray Review (Lionsgate)
The Doorman is a 2020 action thriller film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (Nightmare Cinema, The Midnight Meat Train, No One Lives, Godzilla: Final Wars, Alive, & Versus). It was written by Joe Swanson (Zombie Blondes & Sky Raiders) & Lior Chefetz (Split, Paramedic, & Zombie Blondes). It was produced by Michael Philip (Who Is Cletis Tout?, Drop Dead Sexy, Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj, Stag Night, & Night Train), Jason Moring (Girl, Super Troopers 2, Villain, Genesis, & 1 Mile to You), & 24 others. It had it’s world premiere at the Nightstream Film Festival. A former Marine named Ali Gorsky (played by: Ruby Rose from Batwoman, The Meg, John Wick: Chapter 2, & Resident Evil: The Final Chapter) suffering from PTSD gets a job as a doorman at a high class building where her distant family which includes the estranged Jon (played by: Rupert Evans from Hellboy, The Man in the High Castle, The Boy, & Charmed) plus his kids Lily (played by: Kíla Lord Cassidy from Viewpoint) & Max (played by: Julian Feder from Walkaway Joe & I Hate Kids) happens to live at. 
She is taken under the wing of Uncle Pat (played by: Philip Whitchurch from The English Patient, The Bill, Interview with a Hitman, & The Brothers McGregor) & her new boss Borz (played by: Aksel Hennie from The Cloverfield Paradox, The Martian, Hercules, & Last Knights). The building is closed down for the holidays but a few residents decide to stay there. Victor Dubois (played by: Jean Reno from Leon: The Professional, Ronin, Godzilla, & Mission: Impossible) & his group of mercenaries which includes Martinez (played by: Louis Mandylor from The Quest, Necessary Roughness, Martial Law, & My Big Fat Greek Wedding 1/2) have planned a heist with a little help from the inside. They are looking for artwork hidden inside the walls. They were expecting it to be a easy job that’s until they messed with Ali’s family. They must outsmart & execute the dangerous former marine before their time is up. Can they pull off this job? or Have they met their match???? 
The Doorman is basically Die Hard in a high class building complex. The script doesn’t even try for character development except for the main role to explain a little how she went from a respected marine to a doorman. It has some one liners every once awhile but it’s pretty generic for the most part. Let’s be honest, Ruby Rose has never been a great actress but she’s always been easy on the eyes but she handles the action here like a pro so it’s actually one of her better performances. Jean Reno steals the show here as the villain & he elevates the overall production with his presence. I liked the mystery behind Victor Dubois. 
It actually had a solid supporting cast which included Rupert Evans, Aksel Hennie, Louis Mandylor, & Philip Whitchurch. They knew what type of film they were doing, so they hammed it up & went over the top here. The Doorman had some quality fight choreography, action, & some cool kills. It kinda has a late 80’s & early 90’s vibe to it. I’ve always been a fan of Ryuhei Kitamura, he provides his own unique visual touch to this Die Hard rip off but he just hasn’t had any luck in America when it comes to films. This one had potential to be bigger but due to Covid-19 & other issues, it just got pushed off to the direct to video market. The Doorman doesn’t take it’s self serious at all. It delivers what you expect from this sub-genre. It’s a mindless, fun, & entertaining experience. 
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation & special feature from Lionsgate! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer looks fantastic on blu ray. It basically has one main location but there’s plenty of different locations there for it’s quality production design to shine. No matter what he does, director Ryuhei Kitamura always provides a great visual experience with his features. The English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is great & the action here has a killer boost to it. All of the dialogue is vert clean & the music is elevated. It has a variety of subtitles which includes English, English SDH, French, & Spanish. The little over 12 minute “In Service of Others: Reflections of the Cast” is the only extra on the disc. It has interviews with Rupert Evans, Aksel Hennie, Jean Reno, & Ruby Rose. Rose chats about not wanting to be typecast but she loved the script for this. He talks about it being rare to do a strong female lead character. She goes over the role, story, & her experience. Jean Reno says standard action films don’t really get his attention but he really liked the villain in this. He goes over doing English & other languages. He enjoyed the concept of it. This gets compared to Die Hard by one of the actors. They praise the legendary Reno & they were all excited to work with him on this. They bring up the action, stunts, & the international cast/crew it had for the production. It also has a slipcover & a digital code. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!! 
The Doorman is basically Die Hard in a high class building complex. The script doesn’t even try for character development except for the main role to explain a little how she went from a respected marine to a doorman. It has some one liners every once awhile but it’s pretty generic for the most part. Let’s be honest, Ruby Rose has never been a great actress but she’s always been easy on the eyes but she handles the action here like a pro so it’s actually one of her better performances. Jean Reno steals the show here as the villain & he elevates the overall production with his presence. I liked the mystery behind Victor Dubois. It actually had a solid supporting cast which included Rupert Evans, Aksel Hennie, Louis Mandylor, & Philip Whitchurch. They knew what type of film they were doing, so they hammed it up & went over the top here. The Doorman had some quality fight choreography, action, & some cool kills. It kinda has a late 80’s & early 90’s vibe to it. I’ve always been a fan of Ryuhei Kitamura, he provides his own unique visual touch to this Die Hard rip off but he just hasn’t had any luck in America when it comes to films. This one had potential to be bigger but due to Covid-19 & other issues, it just got pushed off to the direct to video market. The Doorman doesn’t take it’s self serious at all. It delivers what you expect from this sub-genre. It’s a mindless, fun, & entertaining experience. Let’s talk about the high definition presentation & special feature from Lionsgate! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer looks fantastic on blu ray. It basically has one main location but there’s plenty of different locations there for it’s quality production design to shine. No matter what he does, director Ryuhei Kitamura always provides a great visual experience with his features. The English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is great & the action here has a killer boost to it. All of the dialogue is vert clean & the music is elevated. It has a variety of subtitles which includes English, English SDH, French, & Spanish. The little over 12 minute “In Service of Others: Reflections of the Cast” is the only extra on the disc. It has interviews with Rupert Evans, Aksel Hennie, Jean Reno, & Ruby Rose. Rose chats about not wanting to be typecast but she loved the script for this. He talks about it being rare to do a strong female lead character. She goes over the role, story, & her experience. Jean Reno says standard action films don’t really get his attention but he really liked the villain in this. He goes over doing English & other languages. He enjoyed the concept of it. This gets compared to Die Hard by one of the actors. They praise the legendary Reno & they were all excited to work with him on this. They bring up the action, stunts, & the international cast/crew it had for the production. It also has a slipcover & a digital code. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!! 
