Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage stars in his first-ever Western as Colton Briggs, a cold-blooded gunslinger turned respectable family man. When an outlaw and his gang put Colton and his family in peril, Colton is forced to take up arms with an unlikely partner — his 12-year-old daughter (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) — in this action-filled film that builds toward its fateful showdown with pulse-pounding suspense.
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Video Quality
The Old Way arrives on Blu-Ray with a 1080p presentation in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio that looks stellar in high definition. Color saturation is solid with the dusty color palette popping off the screen exactly as you want from a western tale. Gorgeous shots of sprawling nature renders flawlessly in the bright daytime. Skin tones are natural overall with some exposed skin showing off particular details such as grime, bruises and scars. The clarity throughout is amazing with subtle textures in the cabin at the beginning and in the variety of clothing coming through perfectly. Black levels have a fine amount of depth and do not fall victim to digital noise even in the darkest night time outings. The cinematography is one of the high points of the film, and this disc handles things perfectly. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has delivered a more than capable high definition presentation here.
Audio Quality
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a notable representation of this material. The soundscape is not always the most bombastic with the quiet western expanses, but when the movie springs to life it really makes itself known. This story features the sounds of wind cutting across the plains, horses galloping, gunfire and more emanating from numerous directions. The movie realizes the environmental sounds effectively, and the track maintains strong detail even when the conflict comes to a head. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear as it balances well with the score and the sound effects. The low end comes alive during the finale for some nice texture. This track does everything it needs to do really well. There are English, English SDH and Spanish subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary #1: Director Brett Donowho provides an informative commentary track packed with details about the origins of the project, working with Nicolas Cage, the ensemble cast, working on an independent budget and schedule, motivations behind certain moments and more. It is helpful to understand what was intended by the film even if I do not feel like it executed it flawlessly.
- Audio Commentary #2: Composer Andrew Morgan Smith provides a second commentary track which explores the film more from the music side of the equation including working with the director, inspiration for certain scenes and more.
- The Old Way Behind The Scenes: A 14-minute featurette which takes a look at the film, the excitement over Cage performing in his first western, working with his young co-star, the emotional elements of the story, the impressive ensemble and more.
- Scoring Sessions: Three sessions totaling nine minutes are provided here which allows you to see the score being created by the musicians. This is one of the cooler things on the disc.
Final Thoughts
The Old Way is not a failure of a film, but there are many elements that could have been improved upon to provide a much more consistent experience. One of the biggest disappointments is Nicolas Cage himself who falls back into boring old patterns after building up some good will the past several years. His character is unemotive to a detriment, leaving many of the potential moments where emotions should peek through to fall flat. Ryan Kiera Armstrong straddles that awkward line much better, easily stealing the show from her more experienced co-star. The direction also feels a bit too self-aware which is complemented by a jarring score that feels dated by a few decades. The core story is decently engaging even if it is incredibly familiar, but this execution is not the best version of it. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray with a great A/V presentation and a few decent supplemental features. If you like Nic Cage or have a soft spot for westerns, you should check it out with a large amount of caution.
The Old Way is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.