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Victim Blu-ray Review

    Actors: Jason Maza, Ashley Madekwe, Frank Harper, Ashley Chin, Adam Deacon
  • Director: Alex Pillai
  • Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Widescreen
  • Language: English
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: Unrated
  • Studio: Well Go USA
  • Release Date: September 9, 2014
  • Run Time: 86 minutes




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            Although the acting and directing are adequate enough, Victim quickly becomes absolutely rubbish due to a screenplay that feels written by a fifteen-year-old thug with a false sense of righteous indignation and a penchant for unbelievable melodrama. It isn’t enough for the narrative to suggest that crime is the only option for some, but it actually attempts to make the claim that criminals are just as much victims as the people they brutalize and steal from. While the victims of these attacks are rarely completely innocent, that hardly justifies the theft and abuse carried out so that the film’s protagonists can get drunk and high in style.

     


            Tyson (Ashley Chin) is an east Londoner in his early 20s, caring for his sister while simultaneously living a life of crime. He repeatedly talks of getting out of this lifestyle, but still continues his pattern of home invasion with his friends. Out of contrived coincidence, Tyson meets Tia (Ashley Madekwe), a girl from a wealthy family who happens to be visiting the area in an attempt to escape her violent ex-boyfriend. Tyson’s urge to have a different lifestyle is aggravated further upon meeting Tia, though this is not enough to stop him from stealing.

     

            The argument might have been made that Tyson’s criminal activity is out of necessity, with no other way to care for his teenage sister, but this is quickly made impossible by a lack of maturity shown in early sequences. Tyson never makes the slightest attempt at a legitimate means of income, and when he comes across a decent sum of money he chooses to buy his sister a new smart phone rather than paying the bills. These actions make any words about redemption irrelevant, because Tyson’s urge for a better life is just as contrived as the inevitable violence from Tia’s one-dimensional ex-boyfriend.

     

            Despite a hip soundtrack and accurate lingo, Victim is an insulting stupid film thanks to amateurish screenwriting and passionless filmmaking. The contrived melodrama ending can be seen miles away, and the message of the movie would be suspect to anyone other than the random self-pitying criminal. The Blu-ray release includes cast interviews and a trailer. The high definition does little for the low-budget film, and certainly cannot distract from basic failures in filmmaking.

             

    Entertainment Value: 3/10

    Quality of Filmmaking: 3.5/10

    Historical Significance:  1/10

    Special Features: 2.5/10



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