PUNCTURE Blu-Ray Review

GRADE: 4 out of 5

Watching Chris Evans a.k.a Captain America playing a druggie lawyer is quite something. In fact, watching a brilliant lawyer who’s a coke addict on screen and then finding out that he’s based on an actual person is more than quite something. Is Chris Evans just looks or also talent?! Is he about blockbusters and money or is he also about the work, the art, and the character?! It’s hard to judge from Fantastic Four movies or What’s Your Number? But I think 2007′s Sunshine was Evans’ last acting evidence as I recalled, and the fact he makes time to tackle such independent and important subject materials as PUNCTURE shows that he’s still willing to challenge himself…

Mike Weiss (Evans) is a talented young Houston lawyer and a functioning drug addict. Paul Danziger (Kassen), his longtime friend and partner, is the straightlaced and responsible yin to Mike’s yang. Their mom-and-pop personal-injury law firm is getting by, but things really get interesting when they decide to take on a case involving Vicky (Shaw), a local ER nurse, who is pricked by a contaminated needle on the job. As Weiss and Danziger dig deeper into the case, a health care and pharmaceutical conspiracy teeters on exposure and heavyweight attorneys move in on the defense. Out of their league but invested in their own principles, the mounting pressure of the case pushes the two underdog lawyers and their business to the breaking point.

I don’t personally think PUNCTURE is a great movie, I think it has great intentions and the subject material is powerful, I think the character Mike Weiss (Evans) is an outstanding human being despite his demons, I think Evans does a fantastic job, I think people should watch this film so they could be inspired to fight for the good cause, it’s nothing short of an emotionally uplifting and important story but as far as film quality goes, as far as the directing or the script or the pacing are concerned, I think PUNCTURE is generic and predictable and could be better made, and there’s no other way to describe it.

I didn’t come from healthcare background so I can’t argue about the accuracy of the film’s depiction and explanations on syringe, safety needles, and death statistics. Those of you who have researched such things could judge whether or not the issues presented in this film are authentic, over-hyped or an exaggeration.
I do find the lead character Mike Weiss interesting, he’s this flawed hero you want to root for and not tell your kids about at the same time. He’ll make you wonder how he gets away doing his habits for such a long time without getting disbarred. Unorthodox, unconventional, and fierce, his is the story of David Vs. Goliath that could be compared to 1998′s film A Civil Action, starring John Travolta.
The blu-ray unfortunately doesn’t offer any insight into the production, I wish it had some sort of short docu feature to let you in on the actual story or the actual Mike Weiss but it had neither.

PUNCTURE – Specifications
Format – DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital
Running Time – 100 minutes
Rated – R
Pre-Book Date – November 29, 2011
Street Date – January 3, 2012
Sound: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround
SRP: $28.99 (DVD), $29.99 (Blu-Ray), $14.99 (SD Download), $19.99 (HD Download)
Aspect ratio: 16 X 9 2.35 Anamorphic Widescreen
Special Features: Free Digital Copy of the film with DVD Purchase, Previews