Vengeance: A Love Story Blu Ray Review (FilmRise)

Vengeance: A Love Story is a 2017 thriller film directed by Johnny Martin (Skeleton Man, Case#13, Hangman, & Delirium). It was written by John Mankiewicz (House of Cards, House, Miami Vice, & The Marshal). It is based on the 2003 novel “Rape: A Love Story” by Joyce Carol Oates (Foxfire, Smooth Talk, Double Lover, Getting to Know You, & Lies of the Twins). Samuel L. Jackson, Dianne Wiest, & Abigail Breslin were all originally attached to the project in 2009. Producer & lead actor Nicolas Cage was originally attached to direct this at one point. Single mother Teena (played by: Anna Hutchison from The Cabin in the Woods, Power Rangers Jungle Fury, Anger Management, & Spartacus) is brutally assaulted by Marvin (played by: Joshua Mikel from Last Shift, The Walking Dead, & Game Night), Lloyd (played by: Rocco Nugent from Prom, Infiltrators, & Dracula: The Impaler), Jimmy (played by: Joe Ochterbeck from Jade & Collide), & Fritz (played by: Carter Burch from Venom, Sacrificial, & Desperate Cowboys) while walking home late at night on the Fourth of July.

There is more than enough evidence to convict her attackers including an eyewitness to the crime, her 12-year-old daughter Bethie (played by: Talitha Bateman from Annabelle: Creation, Just Between Us, Geostorm, & Love, Simon). When the defendants hire prominent criminal defense attorney Jay Kirkpatrick (played by: Don Johnson from Miami Vice, Dragged Across Concrete, Django Unchained, & Machete), He goes after Teena’s character & sound credibility in the courtroom. As the truth of what happened to Teena & Bethie that night is distorted, their actions are called into question. Teena’s mother Agnes (played by: Deborah Kara Unger from Silent Hill 1/2, Crash, The Game, & Payback) feels helpless in the situation. Detective & Gulf War veteran John Dromoor (played by: Nicolas Cage from Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart, Leaving Las Vegas, & The Rock) must take up the pursuit of vigilante justice on their behalf when justice isn’t served by the law!!!!

Are you a fan of revenge films & Nicolas Cage? Then you might enjoy this independent feature starring the Oscar winner doing his best Death Wish impersonation. I am both a huge fan of that sub genre & Cage so I was really excited when this was first announced. It starts out a little slow in the beginning, it focuses more on the rape & courtroom. Towards the middle, it really picks up & goes into vigilante mode. Anna Hutchison is great as the female lead in this. I haven’t seen much from her besides a few things but I was impressed. Nicolas Cage has kinda been stuck in B Movie & direct to video territory for awhile now but he delivers one of his best performances in a long time in this. Both Deborah Kara Unger & Talitha Bateman provide solid supporting turns here also. The true highlight from the production is Don Johnson! He is very sleazy & perfect in his role, it’s definitely his best work since his starring role days. It’s a dark film & it keeps you entertained especially towards the end, RECOMMENDED!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation & special feature from FilmRise! This 1080p (1.85.1) transfer looks great on blu ray! That’s one positive thing when it comes to modern cinema. Shot on digital usually provides a real good end result when it comes to the visuals. It has two different audio options which includes English: Dolby Digital 5.1 & English: Dolby Digital 2.0 on the disc. They both provide clean dialogue & all the action has a nice boost here for the darker moments. It has English SDH subtitles. Both picture & sound are high quality on this release. The only extra on the disc is the “Trailer”. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!