Sinners and Saints is about as good as you could hope for a direct-to-DVD action film to be, while still working well within what you’ve probably come to expect from the genre. Set in a post-Katrina New Orleans, Saints is generally above average (again, for direct-to-DVD) in its acting, writing, direction, and cinematography, but their very ambition also serve to highlight where they have fallen short. Had the film been satisfied to stick within its capabilities, it wouldn’t have been half as frustrating as something that set a bar it couldn’t reach.
As demonstrated by any number of films and televisions, crime tends to work better when given some larger historical and social context; Saints is smart enough to find one largely unmined (save by Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) and set its place in time effectively (if crudely with numerous references to the Iraq war). It’s also smart enough to cast a few people who probably could make their way into the Hollywood version of this story, like Tom Berenger, and to stage them in action that's at least somewhat convincing (usually a sticking point on budgets like these). Its themes of police brutality and corruption are certainly nothing new, but they’re handled well-enough to suggest a grounded character along the lines of Michael Chiklis’s in The Shield.
Unfortunately, that lead is played by Johnny Strong, who is not an especially bad actor, but in no way possesses the gravitas necessary to anchor a feature film. Same goes for Kevin Phillips and Costas Mandylor, who round out the rest of the leads; perfectly competent, but lacking in the wattage that would elevate the material.
SPECIAL FEATURES
There’s a “behind-the-scenes” featurette as well as some deleted scenes.
"Sinners and Saints" is on sale January 10, 2012 and is rated R. Action. Directed by William Kaufman. Written by William Kaufman, Jay Moses. Starring Costas Mandylor, Kim Coates, Sean Patrick Flanery, Tom Berenger, Johnny Strong, Kevin Phillips, Clifford Method Man Smith, Louis Mandylor, Bas Rutten.
