The world’s most dangerous criminals are summoned to a new prison on the eve before its grand opening by Moon (Ice-T, New Jack City), the ruthless leader of the world’s most powerful crime syndicate. Chaos ensues when weapons and ammunition are passed around and the group, including Lou (Christopher Lambert, Highlander) begin their fight to survive. The last three men standing by midnight have been promised $10,000,000 in cash by Moon, who watches from his surveillance camera as gunfire and bodies fly. Rivalries develop between friends and the lines of loyalty are crossed as each criminal attempts to outwit, outrun and outlive the other in the action packed game of elimination.

For thoughts on Mean Guns, please check out our discussions on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/-wxlFGYzfB8?si=zReUsW7MO-bHhfo3&t=2090]

Video Quality

Mean Guns makes its domestic Blu-Ray debut via the MVD Rewind Collection with a 1080p transfer that largely looks nice with only minor inconsistencies. A more meticulous, fresh scan would probably clear up some lingering issues, but the results are by and large very fetching with lovely organic film grain that has not been digitally tweaked and robbed of its texture. You will not find any exceptional damage that would take you out of the experience, but this print still has some occasional nicks, scratches, and cue marks on display.

This is a film that takes place primarily within prison walls with no exceptional colors to radiate off of the screen. That being said, the golden palette is represented with accuracy. Black levels are fairly strong with a decent amount of depth with only the odd moment of crush or banding. The transfer is mostly clear and detailed, but you do have moments that run on the soft side or experience some fluctuations in density. The transfer does showcase some nice detail in the production design and texture of the clothing. This is a strong presentation for a film that holds a soft spot for some action fans.

Audio Quality

MVD Entertainment brings us this new Blu-Ray with an LPCM 2.0 stereo track that favorably captures this story. One of the first things you will notice is the soundtrack as you are introduced to the film. The music never lacks fidelity as it emanates through the speakers. The clunky dialogue holds up quite nicely, coming through clearly without being overshadowed by the score or sound effects. Environmental effects are precisely delineated including yelling and moments of gunfire. This track does not exhibit any noticeable instances of age-related wear and tear such as distortion or drop-outs. This track accomplishes everything it needs to. Optional English (SDH), French, and Spanish subtitles are provided on this disc.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Albert Pyun provides a very informative commentary track in which he dives into the production, the inspiration for the feature, the casting process, creating the look of the film after learning new processes from Seven, the tight shooting window, and more.

Introduction: An optional 39-second introduction from Pyun is provided thanking you for watching the movie.

Interviews with Gary Schmoeller: A 29-minute interview with the producer in which he discusses getting into the film business later in life, his friendship with Brian Yuzna, his relationship with various companies, the lifespan of certain action heroes, the shooting locations, his work on contracts, and more.

Interview with Paul Rosenblum: A nearly 24-minute discussion with the executive producer in which he gives background on his career in Hollywood, getting involved with Albert Pyun, learning on a Roger Corman production, his role in the production team, the directing style of Pyun, the creation of the look and feel of the film, and more.

Interview with Anthony Riparetti: A 19-minute conversation with the composer in which he talks about his relationship with Pyun, his work creating music for various projects, the intentions for his cues on Mean Guns, and more.

Trailers: The minute-and-a-half-long trailer is provided for Mean Guns. The disc also features trailers for other MVD releases including Blast, Crazy Six, Nemesis, Nemesis 2, and Nemesis 3.

Poster: A fold-out poster of the cover art is included in the case.

Final Thoughts

Mean Guns has a premise that is easy to love because it is never not fun to watch a group of killers take out one another one by one. The actual execution of this idea in the film mostly lives up to its promise, but a clunky script and some plot inconsistencies keep this one from being a classic within the genre. To be fair, there is still much to like about this one, but it just struggles in a few key places. Ice T is better here in a more over-the-top role than in more serious fare, and Christopher Lambert does a decent job for his payday even if we want more. It is mindless fun if you have already watched all of the better examples of mindless fun. MVD Entertainment has delivered a Blu-Ray with a good A/V presentation and a nice selection of special features. If you generally like disposable action films, this will probably treat you well. Recommended

Mean Guns is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: MVD Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.