L.A. Wars: Collector's Edition – MVD Rewind Collection (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1994
Directors: Tony Kandah, Martin Morris
Writers: Addison Randall, Tony Kandah
Cast: Vince Murdocco, Mary E. Zilba, A.J. Stephans, Johnny Venokur, Rodrigo Obregón, David Jean Thomas, Kerri Kasem

Release Date: May 16th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 91 Minutes 37 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Aspect ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Sound: LPCM Mono English, LPCM Stereo English, LPCM Mono French, LPCM Mono Italian
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"When power crazed drug lord Raul Guzman (Rodrigo Obregón, Hard Ticket to Hawaii) moves in on the mafia L.A. cocaine trade and steals the mob boss Carlo Giovani's (A.J. Stephans, "Baywatch") money and drugs, the streets explode in violence.

Featuring Vince Murdoco (Kickboxer II) as undercover cop, Jake Quinn, he infiltrates the mafia as the bodyguard for Giovani's beautiful daughter, Carla (Mary E. Zilba, "The Real Housewives of Vancouver"). Jake must use his martial arts and all the weaponry he can carry to defend Carla from Guzman's hit men.

Giovani's ruthless right hand man Vinny (Johnny Venokur, Savage Streets) betrays him and tries to assault Carla but is stopped by Quinn. Vinny is humiliated and booted from the family. He then teams up with Guzman to seek revenge on Giovani.

In a final showdown, Quinn must stop Vinny in his rampage for revenge and power." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "scanned and restored in 2K in 2020 from 16mm archival elements."

L.A. Wars comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.5 GB

Feature: 24.9 GB

The source used for this transfer appears to be the same source Vinegar Syndrome used for their 2020 Blu-ray release. That said, there is some minor wear and tear, but nothing that is distracting. Colors are nicely saturated, flesh tones look healthy, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is very good, and grain remains intact.

Audio: 3.75/5 (LPCM Stereo English), 3.5/5 (LPCM Mono English)

This release comes with four audio options, a LPCM mono mix in English, a LPCM stereo mix in English, a LPCM mono mix in French, and a LPCM mono mix in Italian. For this review, I only listened to the two English-language tracks. Though both of these tracks sound clear and balanced, there are some sibilance issues and a few minor audio imperfections. Also, the stereo track sounds noticeably more robust than the mono track. Included are removable English SDH subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a photo gallery (stills/poster), a trailer (2 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival interview with cinematographer Mark Morris titled Shoot First (23 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with producer, co-screenwriter and co-director Tony Kandah titled Starting War (17 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a video commentary with Tony Kandah and Cereal at Midnight’s Heath Holland (91 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Tony Kandah and Heath Holland, reversible cover art, a collectible mini poster (limited to first pressing), and a slipcover (limited to first pressing). It should be noted that the video commentary and audio commentary are essentially the same track, with the former providing video with the audio.

Other extras include trailers for Action USA, Miami Blues, Final Justice, Drive, and Boogie Boy.

Summary:

There is a misconception that bombastic action cinema is a product of the 1980s. And though, in regards to theatrical cinema, this might be true, throughout the 1990s, there was an influx of direct-to-home action films that felt like they could have come from the 1980s. Case in point: L.A. Wars, a film that is the textbook example of bombastic action cinema.

The narrative revolves around a disgraced ex-cop named Jake Quinn, who is reluctantly drawn back in as an undercover cop when a war between two rival crime organizations has left the streets of Los Angeles covered in carnage.

When watching 1980s and 1990s action cinema, there is a certain type of performance that one has come to expect. Most of these films from this era are filled with characters overflowing with machismo and hotheaded characters whose brash words often lead to their downfall. The performances in L.A. Wars fall into this type of acting.

From a production standpoint, L.A. Wars is a film that does not waste any of its resources. Despite the premise having been done before, the result is a highly entertaining ride that ensures there is never a dull moment, plenty of T&A, and copious amounts of carnage. Perhaps one of the more surprising aspects of L.A. Wars is how good its action sequences are. Ultimately, L.A. Wars is a must-see film if you are a fan of 1980s bombastic action cinema.

L.A. Wars gets a solid release from the MVD Rewind Collection that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and informative extras, highly recommended.

 Written by Michael Den Boer