Plot: What’s it about?
Bob (David Paymer) has grown tired of his stressful home life and thankless job, so he has made plans to leave it all behind. You see, he has struck a deal with a Japanese group to supply them with a new computer program, one which hasn’t even hit the streets. Bob will steal the program from his work, then sell it to these men for a million bucks and in the process, free himself of the burdens he has become buried under. The Japanese team will then mass produce the program overseas, so that by the time the product reaches release in America, the market will be flooded with pirated copies and as such, the program will be worth much less. So Bob locks the program inside a briefcase and handcuffs it to his wrist, then begins his bus ride to meet the Japanese team. But when a drifter named Axel (Casper Van Dien) overhears how much the briefcase is worth, he picks the lock while Bob sleeps, then makes off with the case. Bob manages to track him down of course, but now the two have to forge a shaky partnership and of course, that means no one knows who to trust and things will only get more complicated from here…
I’d seen pieces of this on cable before, but this was the first time I’d seen Partners from start to finish. As directed by Joey Travolta, Partners is an action comedy of sorts, with plenty of double crosses and such tossed in. Travolta has a cast with some low level stars, such as Casper Van Dien, David Paymer, and Vanessa Angel, but no real big name talents involved. This never seems to hinder the picture however, as the present actors seem to handle the material, though I don’t think that would take much skill. The storyline is pretty basic in design and has predictable twists, but if this is your kind of movie, it is decent enough in the end. The premise is better than the details to be sure, but some humorous moments do happen, such as the scene between Paymer and the hotel’s maid, which I found to be very funny. But this is about as direct to video as you’d expect, with passable writing, direction, and acting, so don’t expect too much from Partners. If you’re into this movie and need a rental, then give this one a chance, it’s worth a couple bucks to see. You could watch it on cable, but then you’d miss the anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 surround sound.
He showed some promise at one point, but it seems like Casper Van Dien is doomed to a life as a B movie player, unless he turns around his career soon. Van Dien is by no means a great actor, but he can take on some roles and is often decent enough, I think. I liked him in several lower profile movies and even in a couple major motion pictures, but he has also made some horrendous flicks as well. I think Van Dien needs to balance between lead roles in these low budget movies and smaller roles in bigger productions, to test his limits and also remain in the limelight to an extent. In Partners, Van Dien gives a passable performance, but never really comes off as great, or even all that good, to be honest. You can also see Van Dien in such films as Starship Troopers, Cutaway, The Collectors, Modern Vampires, and The Omega Code. The cast also includes David Paymer (Payback, The Hurricane), Vanessa Angel (Kingpin, G-Men From Hell), and Yuji Okumoto (Mean Guns, The Karate Kid Part II).
Video: How does it look?
Partners is presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. This is a solid looking treatment, but some grain and slight softness keeps the score down. Even so, this is a good overall image, with a clean source print and few problems to speak of. The colors seem bright enough and I saw no bleeds, while flesh tones were natural as well. The contrast is on the mark also, with stark black levels and no detail loss I could see. The grain is evident in most scenes, but is never extreme, so don’t be too concerned about it. In the end, this is a more than acceptable image, especially given the film’s obvious low budget roots.
Audio: How does it sound?
The included Dolby Digital 5.1 track sparks at times, but this is not an action movie, so the rears won’t explode with activity. A few scenes call for some surround presence and the track delivers, which is about all you can ask for here, I think. The music sounds good also, with solid use of all the channels to immerse the audience. No problems in terms of dialogue that I could detect either, it all comes through loud and clear with this option. This disc also includes a stereo track, in case you’d rather use that choice.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s trailer.
