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Released by: Mill Creek Entertainment
Released on: November 5th, 2019.
Director: Gary Capo
Cast: Dolph Lundgren, J.R. Martinez, Lydia Hull, Texas Battle, Jocelyn Osorio, Travis Burns
Year: 2013
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Saf3 2 - Under Pressure- Movie Review:
SAF3 (pronounced "safe") is a highly trained rescue team operating out of the Malibu Fire Department led by macho man John Eriksson (Dolph Lundgren). When this movie begins, they're not doing so well, a recent rescue operation having resulted in the loss of a team member and another, Alfonso Rivera (J.R. Martinez), hospitalized with serious burns all over his body. If that weren't reason enough to be stuck in the pit of despair, Eriksson and company are having to deal with the pending shutdown of their operation at the hands of some suit and tie guys and some bumbling bureaucrats who just flat out don't appreciate how important their live saving work is.
While Eriksson and company try to get the future of their team sorted out, they've still got rescues to complete and lives to save, including the highlight of the movie where they have to save some undersea divers while running out of air.
This was edited together from a few episodes of a television series from 2013 and it shows. The whole thing feels very episodic in nature, with most of the movie taken up by the various rescue sequences that the crew gets up to. Longer, recurring plot themes are handled pretty messily, and it's clear that some of the narrative from the episodes themselves has been chopped out to tighten up the pacing and make the content suitable for a feature length presentation.
The whole thing feels very much like a Baywatch rip off, right down to the pretty girls running about in red bathing suits, while Dolph essentially takes on the Hasselhoff role in the project. He's not bad in the part, better than most of the other actors actually. He's reasonably cool in the part and the right age to play an authority figure. He's also still clearly in great shape and so we have no trouble buying his abilities in the more physically tense scenes that he plays a part in.
The story, however, is pretty messy. The production values are okay and the performances from the supporting players decent enough if never amazing, but the narrative is really choppy feeling and at times completely messy and hard to follow. But hey, the movie spends enough time showing off attractive people in bathing suits and wet suits, so maybe some people will be a bit more forgiving for that reason. There's also an enjoyably awkward dance scene towards the end of the movie that is just… weird.
Saf3 2 - Under Pressure- DVD Review:
Mill Creek Entertainment brings Saf3 2 - Under Pressure to DVD with a perfectly nice 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Shot digitally, there's obviously no print damage or grain issues. Detail is fine for a standard definition presentation and colors are reproduced quite nicely. Some minor compression artifacts do pop up here and there but otherwise, no issues here.
The only audio option offered here is an English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track and it sounds just fine. Dialogue is always easy to understand and follow and the track is clean, clear and properly balanced. Optional English subtitles are provided.
Extras are limited to a trailer for the feature, menus and chapter selection.
Saf3 2 - Under Pressure- The Final Word:
Saf3 2 - Under Pressure has moments that work and Dolph is pretty good here, but the choppy narrative hurts this one quite a bit. Mill Creek's DVD looks and sounds fine, but the only extra is a trailer. Fans of the TV show might appreciate this, as will Lundgren loyalists, but everyone else can probably easily pass on this.
