Let’s just start by saying that this film is far from perfect, but also far from being a bad film. As I read what this movie was about I was going into watching the movie with low expectations. Turned out better then what I had expected. Now how many times in life are we faced to make a wrong decision in order to help resolve problems? I know that throughout my life there have been many times I have thought about doing anything it took to get these problems off my shoulders. As we learn Ty Hackett’s (Columbus Short) story, we see him trying the best he can to help him and his younger brother survive. Ty being an armed forces veteran is now employed at Eagle Shield security. An Armored car transport service.
As with a large portion of America going through financial difficulties, it is no different for Ty. Facing the possibility of losing his home to the bank, he has to come up with a way to save his home not only for himself but for his little brother Jimmy. Now working for an armored car transport service you can pretty much imagine where this movie is going. Director Nimrod does a great job at keeping you interested in the movie with great action scenes and messages he is getting across to the viewers. One thing he knows is right from wrong. Ty is great example of a desperate individual that will do whatever it takes for financial freedom. Mike Cochrane (Matt Dillon) offers him the opportunity of a lifetime. The firm is about to transport 42 million dollars and Mike knowing the problem Ty is in uses that to push Ty in accepting a bold decision. They come up with the prefect plan, but every plan must have something go wrong. Well at least in Hollywood they do.
I found the film watchable and remind me that no matter how bad in a situation one is in, you should always know what the right thing to do. Although I would have liked to see a better ending to Armored I felt like the viewers might have been left hanging. It seemed that there was more to be told in the story with scenes being left out. I felt the film was rushed and never really has much to show for to keep the audience attention for the entire film. My biggest gripe with Armored was how predictable the movie was. I mean they place an individual with problems and way to solve everything the easy way and at the end his conscience will haunt him back. Armored had a good talented cast, but ultimately something felt short that prevented me to fully enjoy the film. Armored is a movie about an armored truck, how many times have you seen that on the big screen? This film will soon be forgotten.
Armored is brought to high definition on Blu-ray in a 1080p AVC encode framed at 2.35:1. Armored features some incredible amount of details, it’s really impressive how much detail some shots have. Take a look at the close ups and you’ll see exactly what I am referring to. Skintones varies from natural look to overdone. Colors have a solid presentation and black levels are deep and inky. This would have been a perfect reference material if it wasn’t for some of the video noise found in certain darker scenes. Don’t be fooled Armored looks very clean for the most part.
Sony present Armored with a amazing 5.1 DTS HDMA sound mix. The audio is just as good as the video transfer. From the highs being crisp to the bass making itself very present. Was certainly a treat during the 2 armored cars going at it. Every channel is very well balanced and the low end bass is very well rendered. While not the best of films, I can think of a handful of films that are better, but this soundtrack absolutely may blow you out of the water. In some scenes dialogue was bit tough to hear, but overall is clean and crisp. No major problems were found, but enough to prevent Armored from receiving a perfect score. Great work Sony!
Armored comes packed with a simple set of supplements. Could have been more and may not even be worth a watch, but nonetheless Sony added bonus features which is a plus.
Audio Commentary – Producer Dan Farah and cast members bring you commentary throughout the film.
Crash Course – The stunts that took to make this movie were not really intense and in this extra they take you behind the scenes on what it took to make them happen in Armored.
Planning the Heist – Everyone that was a part of Armored from filmmakers to the cast talks about the making of the movie.
Armed and Underground: Production Design – Production team shows what it took to bring this movie together.
If you happen to be home doing nothing and want a good popcorn flick while the wife is out shopping till she drops. Go down to your local movie rental place and pick up Armored. Like I mentioned before, it is not a perfect movie but also not a bad one. Sony managed to provide a good video and audio quality plus a decent set of supplements. If you’re into some good action and just have nothing to do then give Armored a go and enjoy.
