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Released by: Olive Films
Released on: June 23rd, 2015
Director: Craig R. Baxley
Cast: Brian Bosworth, Lance Henricksen, William Forsythe
Year: 1991
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The Movie
Stone Cold is the stuff of legend when it comes to unapologetic action cinema junkies, a 1991 corker starring former NFL star Brian Bosworth as Joe Huff, a tough and ridiculously stylish cop (suspended from the job, 'natch) who goes deep undercover for the FBI as "Joe Stone," infiltrating a ruthless biker gang who are planning a retaliatory murder against judge who put one of their own away.
This was the film debut for the ex-Seattle Seahawk, and it's The Boz who shines here with an over-the-top mullet, a rad pair of Zubaz pants and a pet monitor lizard named Fido. Bosworth is likeable here, though and certainly possesses plenty of charisma and presence to carry him as an action star. Meanwhile, Stone Cold also features a strong supporting presence from veteran character actors Lance Henricksen and William Forsythe, the former of which plays the gang's ruthless leader Chains, who takes on Boz as a prospect.
The script from veteran writer Walter Doniger is chock full of profanity, nudity, gunplay and car chases; a virtual orgy of every sort of overkill trope usually associated with the action movie's 1980s heyday, here with gritty and stylized vibe indicative of the film's early nineties setting. Craig (Action Jackson) Baxley's direction is rock solid, and Stone Cold never misses a beat when it comes to its breakneck pace. There isn't a moment of wasted space here, and things are always moving as Bosworth's Huff moves in between set pieces with the bikers and his FBI contacts, who are out to stop the biker's drug trade with the local mafia presence.
You'll have to search elsewhere for any negative points, because this writer is a diehard fan of Stone Cold and its action flick delirium. They quite simply do NOT make 'em like this anymore.
Video/Audio/Extras
This Blu-Ray of Stone Cold from Olive Films is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with an AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer that really pops, despite the heavy presence of dark browns and blacks which make up much of the film's middle section. Given that the old MGM DVD has gone out of print, this is a great and cost effective way to catch the best possible looking version of Stone Cold out on the market.
The DTS-HD sound is equally solid here, although there are a few night scenes over on the back end which suffer from some poorly mixed background noise. I had to pause and check for a weird noise, before I realized it was some seriously humming crickets doing their thing over on the disc. As usual, there are absolutely no extras here on the disc, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't go over to Amazon now and drop down some hard earned on this bad boy.
The Final Word
Stone Cold is a stunner of a flick, if you'll pardon the pun. It's a shame that true action movie superstardom eluded The Boz, although the heavy hitter does continue to act to this day, with twenty credits to his name, as recent as 2015! Like it or not, however, Stone Cold will always be the film with which Brian Bosworth will forever be linked.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
