Middle Men—Paramount Vantage

Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 1.5/5

In 1995, everyone had a VCR, music was sold in record stores, and the world wide web was a newfound discovery. Businessman Jack Harris had the perfect life - a beautiful family and a successful career fixing problem companies. Then he met Wayne Beering and Buck Dolby, two geniuses but troubled men, who had invented the way adult entertainment is sold over the internet. When Jack agrees to help steer their business, he soon finds himself caught between a 23-year-old porn star and the FBI, all the while becoming one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs of his time. Witness a story so outrageous, you won't believe it's true. A story that proves business is a lot like sex: getting in is easy, pulling out is hard.

Paramount serves up a strong presentation for this day and date release. The HD image has strong detail through most of the film though some of the more colorful sequences lean a bit too heavy on the golds and sacrifice a bit of fine detail. Colors are definitely stylizes and you’ll almost get sick of the teal look after awhile. Contrast is decent but blacks are elevated a bit robbing the image of a bit of depth in some sequences. The soundtrack is fun with a nice bottom end and spaciousness. The surrounds do a decent job of conveying atmosphere while the upbeat song selections keep the bottom in going. Dialogue is balanced throughout and imaging is pretty spot on.

Extras are a bit on the slim side with some deleted scenes and a short featurette. Given the fact that this is based on true events I was hoping for more insight on the real story.

This was more enjoyable than I was expecting and I really wonder how close to the truth it is. The Blu-ray exhibits a pretty solid presentation overall making it an easy recommendation for a rent.

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