“No Good Deed” is a film that had the potential of being dark, sinister and creepy, but while I enjoyed the beginning and the ending of the film, everything inbetween was not as creepy or violent as one would expect. Still a film worth checking out.
TITLE: No Good Deed
FILM RELEASE: 2014
DURATION: 84 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:40:1 Aspect Ratio), English and Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English – Audio Descriptive Track, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
COMPANY: Screen Gems/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
RATED: R (For Sequences of Violence, Menace, Terror and for Language)
Release Date: January 6, 2015
Directed by Sam Miller
Written by Aimee Lagos
Produced by Lee Clay, William Packer
Executive Producer: Idris Elba, Glenn S. Gainor, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Rob Hardy, Taraji P. Henson, Aimee Lagos, Lindsay Williams
Music by Paul Haslinger
Cinematography by Michael Barrett
Edited by Randy Bricker, Jim Page
Casting by George Pierre
Production Design by Chris Cornwell
Art Direction by Michael H. Ward
Set Decoration by Melinda Sanders
Costume Design by Keith G. Lewis
Starring:
Idris Elba as Colin
Taraji P. Henson as Terry
Leslie Bibb as Meg
Kate del Castillo as Alexis
Henry Simmons as Jeffrey
Mirage Moonschein as Ryan
Kenny Alfonso as Javier
McCall (Denzel Washington) has put his mysterious past behind him and is dedicated to living a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.
What happens when one of the most wanted men escapes from prison and goes on a killing rampage?
From filmmaker Sam Miller (“The Bill”), writer Aimee Lagos (“96 Minutes”) and producer Will Packer (“Think Like a Man”, “Takers”, “Ride Along”) comes the American thriller “No Good Deed”.
The film stars Idris Elba (“Pacific Rim”, “Prometheus”, “Thor”), Taraji P. Henson (“The Karate Kid”, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Person of Interest”) and Leslie Bibb (“Iron Man”, “Law Abiding Citizen”, “Iron Man 2”).
“No Good Deed” was #1 in the box office upon release and would become the third #1 film for producer Will Packer after “Ride Along” and “Think Like a Man too”. The film which was budgeted at $13.2 million would go on to make $53.8 million in the box office.
The film begins with the introduction to one of the most wanted men in America, Colin Evans (portrayed by Idris Elba). Colin killed a man and is suspected of killing five women and he is now up for parole after serving a prison term for manslaughter.
After five years serving a prison term for manslaughter, he is denied for parole. But while being transported to prison and winning the trust of the guards transporting him, Colin kills both men and escapes.
We are then introduced to Terri Granger (portrayed by Taraji P. Henson) who is raising her baby Sam and her young daughter Ryan. She is planning an all girls night with her friend Meg (portrayed by Leslie Bibb). Meanwhile, her husband Jeffrey (portrayed by Henry Simmons), acts cold towards her and is packing up to see his father.
Colin returns to Atlanta to visit his fiance Alexis (portrayed by Kate del Castillo). But when he confronts her about being unfaithful and sleeping with another man, when she admits to it, he savagely kills her.
As Colin is angry and drives through the storm, he accidentally crashes his Ford Ranger and walks to Terri’s home. Being the kind person that she is and Colin pretending that he is calling for someone to pick him up, she allows Colin to come inside.
But when Meg comes to visit Colin, he begins flirting with her and when they go out for a smoke break, he savagely murders Meg. When Terri goes to find her friend, she can’t find her. But she sees that the phone lines in the house have been cut and the kitchen knives are all missing.
Terri knows that Colin is not the man she thinks he is and she and her children are in deep trouble. Will Terri and her children escape from Colin or will he kill her?
VIDEO:
“No Good Deed” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1 aspect ratio) and mastered in 4K. Picture quality is fantastic as details from closeups on the characters face or clothing are evident. While skin tones look natural, black levels are nice and deep.
During my viewing of the film, I didn’t see any artifacts, banding issues, aliasing whatsoever.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“No Good Deed” is presented in English and Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English – Audio Description Track and French 5.1 Dolby Digital. Dialogue and music is crystal clear, while certain scenes such as the action sequences can be heard through the surround channels.
Subtitles are in English, English SDH, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES
“No Good Deed” comes with the following special features:
- Making a Thriller – (12:21) Producer Will Packer, director Sam Miller and cast talk about working on “No Good Deed”.
- The Thrill of a Good Fight – (6:10) The cast talk about working on the fight scenes in the film.
- Good Samaritan – (4:28) Writer Aimee Lagos discusses the script and crew discuss what they wanted to accomplish with the film.
EXTRAS:
“No Good Deed” comes with an Ultraviolet code.
When I first watched the trailer for “No Good Deed”, I was curious about Idris Elba playing an antagonist role.
I suppose it was hard for me to see him as a murderer and escaped convict but having watched “No Good Deed”, Elba manages to play the role rather well.
With that being said, I felt the writing played the characters a bit too safe.
The character of Colin is supposed to be ruthless and we see that darkness very early in the film.
The problem is that it takes awhile for us to see evil Colin until later in the film as too much is spent on trying to establish Colin as this character that Terry can’t trust. And unfortunately, that is the problem with the film, you don’t get creeped out that much because it’s too tame compared to similar other films that will infuriate or scare the crap out of you.
Of course, no one wants to see a mother and her little daughter especially a baby put into an unfortunate conundrum but the film lingers too much around Colin trying to win Terry’s trust and Terry trying to entertain him after she invites him to his home.
If Colin is to be the most wanted criminal and an evil antagonist, you can’t take any compromise in trying to make him out as nice. The character is a killer and I just felt there was too much time spent in trying to make him as something different.
Taraji P. Henson does a good job of playing the mother of her two children and it’s great to see her in an action role and doing whatever is necessary to protect her children.
While the Blu-ray of “No Good Deed” will get high marks for its awesome picture quality and also its crystal clear lossless soundtrack, you also get a good number of special features included as well.
Overall, “No Good Deed” is a film that had the potential of being dark, sinister and creepy, but while I enjoyed the beginning and the ending of the film, everything inbetween was not as creepy or violent as one would expect. Still a film worth checking out.
