Empire State DVD Review

Director: Dito Montiel.

Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Angarano, Nikki Reed, Emma Roberts, Shenae Grimes.

Certificate: 15.

Running Time: 90 minutes.

Chris (Hemsworth), starts work as a security guard. After realising that his new place of employment is really slack in the security department he seizes the chance to make things better for his friends and family.
Don’t let the high-octane DVD cover or the inclusion of Dwayne Johnson fool you, EMPIRE STATE is not a fast-paced, action-packed film. Instead it’s a rather slow, clunky affair.

Although based on a true story of an inside heist, the plot is very muddled, with loose ends and undeveloped plot points scattered everywhere.

The biggest let down of the film would have to be Hemsworth himself. Cast in the lead, it’s clear that he’s not ready to shoulder a film yet. His character is supposedly meant to be an Italian-American like the rest of his family who all speak with the stereotypical Jersey accent, Hemsworth however seems to exist in his own little Australian vacuum which is very distracting. It must be hard to live in the shadow of brother Chris, but for the time being at least he should stick to supporting roles.

There is a strong cast of  young Hollywood actresses, Emma Roberts, Shenae Grimes and Nikki Reed, however all three are extremely under-used. Even Roberts who features on the cover, is almost ‘blink and you’ll miss her’. There is an impression that maybe the role was more fleshed-out originally but got lost in the edit. Even the mighty Rock can’t do anything to save EMPIRE STATE, brought in as a police officer in charge of investigating the robbery.

If it’s the thrills that the cover promises that you are after, do yourself a favour and stick in a FAST AND FURIOUS film instead.

[usr=2] EMPIRE STATE is released on Blu Ray and DVD on 17th March.