“Cymbeline” is retold as a battle between a drug kingpin and crooked cops. Everyone is in on it, but no one wants to lose their money. The cast is pretty stellar and there’s a ton of violence. However, I don’t feel like we ever get anything done. The material runs a bit thin, but I like the pairing of Ethan Hawke and Ed Harris.
Shakespeare adaptations for modern times are a dime a dozen. While the leads are good and call to mind the director’s earlier adaptation Hamlet (2000). The end result is a film that shows that the weaker elements drag down the overall effort. If Shakespeare with NYC accents are what you need, then that’s what you get here. It’s just that nothing else happens for an hour and a half.
The Blu-Ray comes with a Digital HD copy, commentary, featurettes, interviews and a trailer gallery as the special features. The A/V Quality is astonishing for a film that I didn’t realize existed. The DTS-HD 5.1 master audio track is strong. However, the 1080p transfer seemed a bit noisy at points. In the end, it’s still worth a purchase to the curious.
Release Date: 05/19/15