Plot: What’s it about?
Las Vegas cop, Vincent Downs (Jamie Foxx) and his partner, make a near fatal mistake when they rob from the wrong people. After a shootout, they get away with a large supply of illegal narcotics. The problem is that it belongs to people with mob connections. One night Vincent and is son are ambushed and this results in his son, Thomas (Octavius J. Johnson) getting kidnapped. It’s not long until Vincent is informed that he has only a few hours to get back the drugs he stole if he ever wants to see his son again. His Ex-wife played by Gabriel Union suspects something isn’t right, but Vincent leads her on the best he can. We also get Michelle Monaghan as a detective who is eventually one of the many characters on Vincent’s tail. Then there’s a corrupt casino owner played by Dermot Mulroney and the buyer of the drugs played by Scoot McNairy.
I admit that I didn’t expect too much from Sleepless. I was, however, expecting more of a guilty pleasure. There’s nothing terribly wrong with it, but it doesn’t get a whole lot right, either. Once the central plot involving the kidnapped son kicks in, it’s really like one big chase scene. There’s action aplenty and much of it is intense and earns the R rating. The problem is, I really just didn’t care much for any of the characters at all. All the elements are here, but it was hard to muster up much enthusiasm for any of it. Clocking it at little over 90 minutes, we also get a bit too many characters that aren’t developed enough, especially for the rushed running time. Performances are only so-so, Foxx is a bit too spotty as well. Some of his delivers are a bit comical when they should be anything but that. The story does throw a few twists in, but we’ve seen all this before and much better, to be honest. Ultimately Sleepless is a film that knows the right words, but not the music.
Video: How’s it look?
Neither overly flashy nor weak, the transfer is perfectly serviceable if nothing remarkable. It’s actually very similar to the quality of the film itself. It gets the job done, but doesn’t leave you with much of an impression. Vegas is always a good location for a film, and the details are nice, the print didn’t show many issues either. The film can appear a bit darker at times, but the transfer serves is accurately. The image is AVC encoded with a 2.39:1 ratio.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The DTS HD track is solid. The film hardly lets up as the film is essentially one long action sequence in the second half. Vocals were fine, but the gunshots and action are what set this apart. It all comes across with a crisp and clean sound with little issues. Fans should be pleased with the results here.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Deleted Scenes -We get 5 short scenes that don’t really add much to the film. I did like one where the casino owner steps in and offers theater tickets to an unhappy guest. Still, they were wisely deleted.
- One Long Night: The Making of Sleepless -As you can tell by the running time, this piece is largely promotional and features the usual interviews with the cast and crew.
The Bottom Line
Sleepless might please those in desperate need of an action fix. It delivers on that level. The problem is with the central story and uninteresting characters. There’s just little here that’s compelling. I wanted to care more than I did. If you catch it on cable down the road, then maybe watch it then. Otherwise skip it.
