Hard Rain
What?
Do you remember the 1990’s? Well, I certainly do. Though apart from a cluster of the decade’s standout hits, I recall the 90’s as being a melting pot for all things action. It seemed the only true variables of our action equation were a combination of extravagant setting and an opportune lead. The glaring examples regarding this “all setting no substance” trend are virtually endless. How about Broken Arrow, The Rock, Con Air, and Hard Rain for starters? Now, you could arrange your own favorite list and you’d probably find a rather consistent patter: use either Nick Cage or Christian Slater in a nut ball action movie. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I derive the utmost pleasure from sitting down and quoting lines along just as much as the next fellow. I’m a meat and potatoes kind of guy; I can’t honestly pick one of these over the other and that’s because they’re all the SAME movie. The template being to throw a popular star into a dangerous environment where bad guys try to kill him, a love interest, and an impromptu partner.
Yet among these apparently guilty pleasures, a single film manages to convey the supreme or alpha scenario of settings: Hard Rain. Summarily concerning a Bank owned armored truck guard whose collecting in a small town whilst the worst flood ever recorded is about to hit. It’s a fun, almost tall-tale story that speaks directly to a lower level of morality, values, and good old-fashioned Eastwood-like entertainment. With Christian Slater, Minnie Driver, and Mr. Morgan Freeman, Hard Rain is soaked to the bone with memorable scenes, a super sweet Randy Quaid death and plenty of underwater adventure. Although I can’t guarantee that Hard Rain will be any better or worse then the long laundry list of 1990 action flicks, it has a simple yet genuine approach—a damn breaking with lots of water. The movie leaves a lasting impression as far as middling action movies go. Water, plus filming, equals an enjoyable hour-and-a-half. If anything will please you, it’ll be the unique setting and an appreciation for rough production conditions. So throw on your life-vest and dive in, Hard Rain drops all over Blu-ray!
Optics:
A story about love, loyalty, and doing what’s moral…well, Hard Rain is really about rain, computer effects, and Christian Slater, Morgan Freeman, and Randy Quaid shooting at each other. Still, Lionsgate gives Hard Rain a proficient image. An intelligible picture that does occasionally struggle with inconsistent shadows and blacks, Hard Rain looks better than your average catalog title. Being a contentiously gloomy film, what with the rain and all, Hard Rain does have positives although they don’t completely make up for the problems. This is definitely the greatest shape in which I’ve viewed Hard Rain. When colors do arrive on screen, it looks natural and warm, thus presenting a nice contrast between light and dark. All told, Hard Rain receives a steady yet underwhelming visual transfer. I was prepared for this knowing the setting and lighting issues while filming. There’s always been a lot more going on with Hard Rain audibly rather than optically anyways.
Sonics:
And the audio doesn’t disappoint with its 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. I was pleasantly surprised at how sonically versatile Hard Rain truly is. My bass speaker was always pumping out juice, while the ambient field, and stage presence laid out quite a thump altogether. Something always seemed to hold down the audio whether it be firearm reports, boat engines, clear dialogue, or, you guessed it, HARD RAIN (couldn’t resist). There’s much more going on with the audio than I initially estimated. Maybe not demo worthy, but for sure a bit further down the path than your average BD. You’ve come for Christian Slater, stay for the soundtrack!
Extras:
Hard Rain’s bonus material is all dried up. The only extra is a trailer.
Well?
Hard Rain stands up just fine in the face of the 1990 action movie compendium. Lionsgate did an OK job on the video, but the sound was something to behold. There’s always more room in your collection for a fair priced action picture.
Grant Iwan
Do you remember the 1990’s? Well, I certainly do. Though apart from a cluster of the decade’s standout hits, I recall the 90’s as being a melting pot for all things action. It seemed the only true variables of our action equation were a combination of extravagant setting and an opportune lead. The glaring examples regarding this “all setting no substance” trend are virtually endless. How about Broken Arrow, The Rock, Con Air, and Hard Rain for starters? Now, you could arrange your own favorite list and you’d probably find a rather consistent patter: use either Nick Cage or Christian Slater in a nut ball action movie. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I derive the utmost pleasure from sitting down and quoting lines along just as much as the next fellow. I’m a meat and potatoes kind of guy; I can’t honestly pick one of these over the other and that’s because they’re all the SAME movie. The template being to throw a popular star into a dangerous environment where bad guys try to kill him, a love interest, and an impromptu partner.
Yet among these apparently guilty pleasures, a single film manages to convey the supreme or alpha scenario of settings: Hard Rain. Summarily concerning a Bank owned armored truck guard whose collecting in a small town whilst the worst flood ever recorded is about to hit. It’s a fun, almost tall-tale story that speaks directly to a lower level of morality, values, and good old-fashioned Eastwood-like entertainment. With Christian Slater, Minnie Driver, and Mr. Morgan Freeman, Hard Rain is soaked to the bone with memorable scenes, a super sweet Randy Quaid death and plenty of underwater adventure. Although I can’t guarantee that Hard Rain will be any better or worse then the long laundry list of 1990 action flicks, it has a simple yet genuine approach—a damn breaking with lots of water. The movie leaves a lasting impression as far as middling action movies go. Water, plus filming, equals an enjoyable hour-and-a-half. If anything will please you, it’ll be the unique setting and an appreciation for rough production conditions. So throw on your life-vest and dive in, Hard Rain drops all over Blu-ray!
Optics:
A story about love, loyalty, and doing what’s moral…well, Hard Rain is really about rain, computer effects, and Christian Slater, Morgan Freeman, and Randy Quaid shooting at each other. Still, Lionsgate gives Hard Rain a proficient image. An intelligible picture that does occasionally struggle with inconsistent shadows and blacks, Hard Rain looks better than your average catalog title. Being a contentiously gloomy film, what with the rain and all, Hard Rain does have positives although they don’t completely make up for the problems. This is definitely the greatest shape in which I’ve viewed Hard Rain. When colors do arrive on screen, it looks natural and warm, thus presenting a nice contrast between light and dark. All told, Hard Rain receives a steady yet underwhelming visual transfer. I was prepared for this knowing the setting and lighting issues while filming. There’s always been a lot more going on with Hard Rain audibly rather than optically anyways.
Sonics:
And the audio doesn’t disappoint with its 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. I was pleasantly surprised at how sonically versatile Hard Rain truly is. My bass speaker was always pumping out juice, while the ambient field, and stage presence laid out quite a thump altogether. Something always seemed to hold down the audio whether it be firearm reports, boat engines, clear dialogue, or, you guessed it, HARD RAIN (couldn’t resist). There’s much more going on with the audio than I initially estimated. Maybe not demo worthy, but for sure a bit further down the path than your average BD. You’ve come for Christian Slater, stay for the soundtrack!
Extras:
Hard Rain’s bonus material is all dried up. The only extra is a trailer.
Well?
Hard Rain stands up just fine in the face of the 1990 action movie compendium. Lionsgate did an OK job on the video, but the sound was something to behold. There’s always more room in your collection for a fair priced action picture.
Grant Iwan
Director:
Mikael Salomon
Starring:
Morgan Freeman
Christian Slater
Minnie Driver
Randy Quaid
Edward Asner
Ricky Harris
Michael A. Goorjian
Best line:
- "You took the money. Didn't you son?" - "Yeah, I hid it." - "Why did you do that?" - "I don't like to carry around that much cash, ya know?"
Tagline:
"In the worst storm in living memory, one guard stands between five men and three million dollars."
Description:
Lionsgate
US
Rated R
Region A
1 Hr 37 Min
2.39:1
MPEG-4/AVC/25GB
DTS-HD MA 7.1
English
Subtitles: Eng, Spa
Ratings: (Out of 10)
Film 6.0
Optics 7.0
Sonics 8.0
Extras 1.0
Overall 7.0
