Empire State - DVD

Content: Queens in 1982: Chris (Liam Hemsworth) dreams of joining the police force. But due to a long-ago offense for which his buddy Eddie (Michael Angarano) was responsible, Chris is not allowed to take the police exam. So his only option is to apply for a job at a security firm. This is as close as he'll get to his dream. Despite the rather pathetic pay, Chris is happy when he gets the job. That his new job will be very dangerous he has to find out after only a few days, when his partner is shot during a robbery. As a newcomer, Chris is immediately targeted by the investigating detective Ransome (Dwayne Johnson), but after a short time he realizes that the young man has nothing to do with this crime. Chris, on the other hand, doesn't see why he should risk his life for such a paltry salary. Together with Eddie he forges a plan: he wants to relieve the poorly supervised warehouse of the security company, where often several million are stored, for a few thousand dollars. A large part of this money is to go to the widow of his shot partner. But Eddie and small-time crook Mike (Greg Vrotsos) are planning a much bigger score - a heist that will make their money troubles come to nothing once and for all...

Empire State is based on a real-life case involving Christos Potamitis, who, along with his accomplices, was responsible for the biggest money heist in U.S. history to date and was also jailed for it until 1991. The whereabouts of the money have not been clarified to this day. Director Dito Montiel (Fighting, Kids on the Streets of New York) has used the real-life background to craft a suspenseful drama about friendship, family and unfulfilled dreams that offers really good entertainment for long stretches. With a coherent, but somehow also timeless 80s atmosphere, good actors and some successful moments of tension, almost all potential boredom cliffs are skilfully avoided, which makes especially the first half of the film extremely successful.

While Liam Hemsworth lacks a little charisma to carry a film like this. And Michael Angarano's efforts to play against his nice guy image also come across as a bit of an effort here and there. Still, the actors leave a very good impression overall, which is all the more positive since the film is primarily a character-driven drama and only secondarily a thriller. As he did with Kids in the Streets of New York, Montiel was again concerned with authentic characters, comprehensible conflicts and not over-dramatizing. But especially in the last third, it would have done his film some good if he had scaled down his ambitions a bit and instead focused more on the entertainment value for the viewer.

Because even though Empire State is never really boring, towards the end there is a feeling that the story would have had the potential for a much more entertaining and better film. Montiel's version of events is well-crafted, there's no question about that. But the drama can't really leave a lasting impression. Still, if you can do without a lot of action or nail-biting suspense and are looking for an entertaining thriller-drama that lives more from its story and characters, this one can definitely be recommended. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: Especially through the color scheme, but also through image sharpness and contrasts, the 80s atmosphere of the story is transported very well into the home theater. Real weak points such as significant blurring or dirt can not be made out. The sound is dominated over long stretches by the dialogues and the music, here and there, however, also well-implemented sound effects such as gunshots provide pleasant movement in the surround. Good!

Extras: Besides the trailer and other program tips from the provider, the DVD unfortunately has no additional bonus material to offer. Too bad actually, because more information about the true background would have been visibly very interesting.

Conclusion: Empire State is a decent thriller, which receives its entertainment value less by much action or nerve-wracking suspense, but by its rousing story based on true events, the good actors and the craft convincing production. The DVD presents the film in atmospheric picture and sound quality, only the lack of bonus material disappoints a little. Nevertheless: for viewers for whom good thriller entertainment is not necessarily accompanied by pile-ups or bloody gun battles, this home cinema premiere is absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp