Security Blu-ray Review
Meet Eddie Deacon (Banderas). It’s been a year since he left the service of the US Army and he is desperate for a job. A former Captain, he is told that he is over-qualified for any of the jobs currently available. Also, though he has passed his physical tests, the box that says he has passed his psychological exam hasn’t been checked. Eddie assures the clerk that he has passed but still, nothing is available. Before he leaves, Eddie lets the clerk know that without a job he will not be able to take care of his wife and young daughter. The clerk discovers one opening – the night shift working security at the local shopping mall. Eddie accepts and is told he will start that night. To paraphrase Lloyd Bridges in AIRPLANE!, “Looks like I picked the wrong day to start my new job.”
Basically DIE HARD in a shopping mall, SECURITY is a finely crafted cat and mouse story. The film begins with a well-crafted action scene in which a convoy of law enforcement personnel, escorting a witness, are attacked with amazing precision. There is much carnage and the only one to escape is the witness, 10 year old Jamie (Wright). Running away into the rain-soaked night, she finds herself pounding on the doors of the mall. Eddie lets her in and takes her to the office he shares with four other guards, the majority of who are just doing the job because they can’t find anything else. Another knock comes on the door. Is it good news or bad? Did I really have to ask?
With a plot that sometimes stretches belief, SECURITY is still a well-made action film, one that would have worked perfectly in the mid-1980s. The action set-pieces are well executed and the cast seem to be enjoying the idea of shooting up anything they come across. Banderas, his thin, bearded face doing its best to let on that he has PTSD, is very strong as Eddie. As a father currently away from his child, it is easy to see why he goes to the measures he does to protect Jamie. Young Miss Wright is also very strong, though she is not above being consoled by a nearby teddy bear. The stand-out here is Kingsley, whose smooth-talking criminal is so snake-like you expect to hear him hiss his lines. Kingsley has always been a brilliant actor and his inclusion in the film actually upped my rating one point.
There are some discrepancies that kind of take you out of the story, including one that has the entire mall and its security system losing power but the criminals being able to see everything through their laptops. And isn’t it lucky that one of the guards, a young lady we meet when she stumbles in for work and immediately takes a nap, is as talented with a bow and arrow as William Tell? But if you set reality aside you’ll find yourself going along for the rollercoaster ride director Desrochers takes you on
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: The film is presented in a 2:38.1 aspect ratio and is amazingly well lit. Even scenes that take place in the light-starved mall are sharp and clear.
Audio: The soundtrack is presented in DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 and is very well mixed. Scenes of muffled conversation presented over the sounds of heavy gunfire come through sharp and clear.
“Security” Behind the Scenes (8:10): Standard featurette featuring interviews with cast and crew. No less than three producers also refer to the film as “Die Hard in a Shopping Mall.”