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MOVIE INFO

Director:
Pierre Morel
Cast:
Marwan Abdulla Saleh, Khalifa Al Jassem, Mohammed Ahmed
Writing Credits:
Kurtis Birtell, Brandon Birtell

Synopsis:
When three Emirati soldiers are ambushed in a hostile territory, their commander leads a daring mission to rescue them.

MPAA:
Rated R.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio:
Arabic DTS-HD MA 5.1
Arabic Dolby 2.0
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
English Dolby 2.0
Subtitles:
English
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
None

Runtime: 112 min.
Price: $29.98
Release Date: 12/13/2022

Bonus:
• Trailer & Previews


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RELATED REVIEWS


The Ambush [Blu-Ray] (2021)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (December 14, 2022)

With his second feature, director Pierre Morel managed a pretty sizable hit via 2009’s Taken. For his latest effort, we go to 2021’s combat flick The Ambush.

After a 2015 coup creates immense instability in Yemen, a multinational group comes to attempt to calm the chaos. Circa 2018, United Arab Emirates troops continue to cover the region as peacekeepers.

In February, a small patrol goes out on a routine assignment but undergoes an assault from militants. Left isolated and undermanned, their commanding officer desperately tries to rescue them.

After the success of Taken, Morel followed up with 2010’s From Paris With Love, another action thriller that featured an aging Hollywood star: John Travolta. However, whereas Taken made nine times its budget, Paris lost money despite a relatively modest $52 million cost.

2015’s Gunman - with Sean Penn and Idris Elba – fared even worse. 2018’s Peppermint failed to offer a real comeback, though at least it earned about twice its inexpensive cost.

For reasons I can’t recall, I never saw Paris or Gunman. I did view Peppermint and thought it brought a forgettable experience despite a solid lead performance from Jennifer Garner.

After all these movies with Hollywood “names”, Ambush takes Morel out on a limb, as it comes with no actors recognizable to US audiences. The French Morel seems like an odd choice for a movie shot in Abu Dhabi and starring Middle Eastern actors, but I admire the director’s willingness to change his established MO.

Too bad the film itself feels so “by the numbers”. Ambush tells a potentially interesting tale but Morel does so in a “been there, done that” manner.

Actually, the story itself comes with that same factor, as we’ve gotten umpteen tales of soldiers who battle against the odds to survive. Really, for western audiences, only the focus on Middle Eastern settings and characters give it any juice.

That becomes far too little to carry the day. While Ambush pours on the action, the roles and narrative feel too thin to bring any real life to the proceedings.

Ambush comes with the requisite superficial introduction to the various characters. Each one receives token exposition that lacks depth, so we identify them in simplistic ways at most.

This means we fail to bond with any of the roles. We reflexively root for their survival, but Ambush doesn’t develop them in a strong enough way to allow us to really attach emotion to them.

We also get skimpy discussion of their enemies. A film like this needs a pretty clear “good vs. bad” emphasis or else we struggle to care about those under assault. Since the “villains” remain sketchy, we then don’t get the concise battle lines we need.

My biggest issue comes from the repetitive nature of the movie. Most of it follows the violence that occurs after the titular attack, and this just becomes tedious after a while.

Granted, one can easily argue that a tale like this should depict similar scenes again and again. It’s not like a battle of this sort would come with a ton of variety.

Nonetheless, this means we wind up with a movie that features endless gunfire and violence to the exclusion of almost all else. Even if one wants to argue that this depicts reality, it doesn’t make for a compelling movie.

I don’t want to imply Ambush turns into a poor effort, as it gives us a professional affair. The movie simply lacks the spark and creativity it needs to separate itself from a crowded genre.


The Disc Grades: Picture A-/ Audio A-/ Bonus D-

The Ambush appears in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect a high-quality presentation.

At all times, sharpness seemed solid. The movie offered very good delineation, with nary a soft spot to be found.

No signs of moiré effects or jagged edges materialized, and edge haloes failed to appear. I also didn’t see any print flaws.

Given the setting, I expected a tan/amber palette and got it. While predictable, the transfer executed those hues well.

Blacks looked dark and tight, while shadows looked smooth and clear. Everything about the image satisfied.

With the level of bombast expected from a movie with many scenes of combat, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundfield used the various speakers well. Obviously, battles proved the most involving, as they engulfed the viewer with the sounds of the setting.

That side of things worked best, but other sequences also seemed quite good, as even quieter sections placed the viewer in the action and consistently satisfied. Surround usage was pleasing throughout the film, as the back speakers bolstered the various settings well.

Audio quality was also good. Speech appeared natural, and the lines never demonstrated intelligibility problems. Music was quite dynamic and lively, as the score showed excellent range and delineation.

Effects were also bright and bold, with nice low-end to boot. Across the board, this was an excellent track that deserved a solid “A-”.

Note that the Blu-ray comes with an English dub in place of the original Arabic dialogue. The sound of bland American accents from Middle Eastern faces proves unintentionally comedic and makes that mix a terrible option.

The disc opens with ads for Sniper: The White Raven, Hansan: Rising Dragon and Death Knot. We also get the trailer for Ambush but the disc lacks any other extras.

As a tale of survival against the odds, The Ambush struggles to differentiate itself from its many siblings. The movie simply fails to create its own identity, and that makes it difficult to engage in the story. The Blu-ray comes with excellent picture and audio but it lacks supplements. Despite solid production values, the film just doesn’t rise above its clichés.

Viewer Film Ratings: 2 Stars Number of Votes: 1
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