On DVD: The Kill Point Season One

 

Starring Donnie Wahlberg, John Leguizamo

 

I love the idea of a tight concise story that's told throughout one season of a show.  I can see how it's a dangerous game because how do you bring fans back if the story ahs a finality to it by the end of the season.  I enjoyed a 13 episode series called Day Break that was similarly told in one season.  I caught the first season of The Kill Point when it originally aired and was happy to revisit the series again now on DVD.

 

The Series

 

a group of ex-military from Operation Iraqi Freedom set out to rob a bank.  The job gets bungled and they have to hold up in the bank with a dozen hostages.  Donnie Wahlberg plays Horst Cali, a hostage negotiator who's brought in to try and save the hostages.  The series kicks off in a bit of a stereotypical way and is produced somewhere between HBO's The Wire and older episodes of NYPD Blue.  Adding more credence to the reference to The Wire is the fact that many of the supporting cast are from that series. 

 

The show starts to get much more interesting after the plot is over.  Wahlberg and John Leguizamo, who plays Mr. Wolf the leader of the bank robbers have great chemistry and they ground the show and keep the intensity going even when a few annoying plot holes rear their ugly heads.  Let me also mention one instance of sort of ham fisted political commentary that happens early in the series.  I appreciate well executed social/political commentary in film and TV but it needs to be more subtle and smart not so in your face.  These are minor quibbles though.  The series gets better and more exciting with each episode helping ease the pain of any hiccups within the series..  The ending of the series is fairly predictable but it's nonetheless very exciting and a satisfying capper to the series.

 

The Kill Point features some solid action, great actors in virtually every role with a special nod to the sniper, and for every plot hole there's a less predictable and more exciting plot twist.  When I originally watched the series I saw it as a marathon and let me tell you that's the way to watch this series.  The Kill Point is like 24 in that if you're into it the cliffhangers will "kill" you, forcing you to watch another episode and then another.  Eight hours later and the series is done.

 

7,5/10

 

The Video

 

The widescreen presentation here is standard TV to DVD stuff with good detail and color representation but grain apparent in darker scenes.  It's not mind blowing but it's solid.

 

8/10

 

The Audio

 

The Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation is surprisingly solid here with good dynamic range, solid surround usage, and even good dynamic range.  Dialogue is crisp and clean throughout and well mixed with the score and sound effects.

 

8.5/10

 

The Packaging and Bonus Features

 

The two disc release comes in a standard amaray case with cover art that makes the series feel as exciting as it often is.  There's something a little retro about the art to me too.

 

There's not much here as far as extras.  Basically there's a few brief interviews with cast members.  There's no depth to these interviews.  They feel like marketing sound bites.  That's probably slightly harsh but not by much.

 

3/10

  

Overall (Not an Average) 7.5/10

The Review

The Series 7.5/10

The Video 8/10

The Audio 8.5/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 3/10

Overall (Not an Average) 7.5/10

 

Stephen Lackey