Widows - BLU-RAY

My equation for a good suspense thriller? Give me characters I can like (or at least empathize with), a plot with some complexity (and at least some unpredictable elements), and a conclusion that is sensible in the way it resolves. Viola Davis along with the other widows of her husband’s accomplices (Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki and Cynthia Erivo) are all wonderful and relatively unfamiliar characters. They draw you in with natural and believable performances in a story that takes surprising twists. This is one of those movies that flies past and you know you’ll want to revisit it a number of times. The video and audio are very well done, and detail is easy to see in the many dark scenes, especially in the final act. On the other hand, it’s not a film that relies on the rich colors and extended sound quality that 4k offers. The Blu-ray is probably perfectly adequate although I enjoyed the 4k presentation.

Synopsis: From Academy Award®-winning director Steve McQueen ("12 Years a Slave") and co-writer and bestselling author Gillian Flynn ("Gone Girl") comes a blistering, modern-day thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption. "Widows" is the story of four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities. Set in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of turmoil, tensions build when Veronica (Oscar® winner Viola Davis), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms. "Widows" also stars Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Lukas Haas and Brian Tyree Henry.

When the movie started, it took me a minute to get into it. It seemed sort of slow. After about 10 minutes I was glued to the screen. Viola Davis leading three other women whose husbands were thugs, stealing from others instead of working an honest job, all get killed. Well at least that’s what the director and writers wanted us to believe. These four ladies were left with the large debt of their husbands and had to face the threats and possibly death at the hands of these criminals. The guy who played Viola Davis’ husband staged the whole thing. He escapes the tragedy that took the lives of his thuggish co-conspirators and began a new life with a woman known to his wife and the killer is he even had a child with this side chick. I was so glad that in the end, his wife played by Viola Davis ended up with all the loot!

Steve McQueen came roaring onto the scene almost a decade ago now with "Hunger", one of the best films I've seen in recent years. Since he's made "Shame" and his Oscar-winning "12 Years a Slave." Each film different but distinctly McQueen, "Widows" is a whole new ballgame. Perhaps less action heavy than someone unfamiliar with his work would expect, "Widows" is a character-focused heist film that left me 95% satisfied. I'd recommend to anyone with the caveat that they know they're in for less action and more character than the trailers would have you believe.

This all female leading cast with male supports brings out some of the best acting and suspenseful drama that I have seen in a long time. Ms. Davis and Ms Rodriguez along with Ms Debicki and Ms Erivo really show 4 different characters in Chicago coming from different backgrounds that are believable that come together to overcome political, drug and male dominating times of our current society to show them struggle with each other and to finally overcome these institutions to reach their goal. They make the truthful settings in this city jump out at you and brings home a great movie for the viewers. This movie is to have in your library!