Fit to Kill Blu-ray Review

Julie Strain’s Movie Debut

Fit To Kill may be peak Andy Sidaris and Malibu Bay Films. The cult filmmaker behind an entire line of T&A fueled action romps that thrived in the VHS era such as Malibu Express, the 1993 action “thriller” introduces Penthouse Pet of the Year Julie Strain in her feature film debut. Returning Malibu Bay Films’ starlets Dona Speir and Roberta Vasquez, both former Playboy Playmates, team up as the world’s sexiest government agents against the suave Kane, an international arms dealer played by Roger Moore’s son, R.J. Moore.

Somewhat rehashing elements seen in the earlier Hard Hunted, sultry Federal agents Donna and Nicole must stop international assassin Blu Steele (Julie Strain) and the theft of a valuable diamond by the roguish Kane. Lady Silk (Carolyn Liu) remains by Kane’s side.

Loaded with comedic relief and beautiful “actresses” such as Cynthia Brimhall in string bikinis, Sidaris ramps up the b-movie action with serious looking yet cheesy gunplay and war games – the height of which is a drone helicopter loaded with toy missiles. Look elsewhere for gifted acting and witty dialogue.

…Fit To Kill represents Andy Sidaris and his sleazy formula at its finest

Set in sunny Hawaii, Fit To Kill represents Andy Sidaris and his sleazy formula at its finest. Take stunning outdoor locales, cast beautiful people prancing around in almost nothing, rip off b-movie action plots, spice it up with occasional nudity, and include a few dream-like sex scenes when everything else slows down. That is it and audiences kept coming back for more in the 1980s and 1990s.

Julie Strain lights up the screen, clearly enjoying herself as a seductive villain. She makes for a great addition to Andy’s usual cast of characters. The movie is fun despite an occasionally incoherent plot and a messy ensemble of side characters.

Fit To Kill is a great introduction to Andy Sidaris and his particular brand of filmmaking. Sexing up the average action scripts of the 1980s with stunning women plucked from men’s magazines, the sheer ludicrousness of everything happening on screen is like a private peek into a parallel world.

Video

Mill Creek has been claiming 4K restorations for their various BDs for Malibu Bay films. Fit To Kill actually shows definite benefits from this Blu-ray treatment, getting appreciable bumps in texture and overall detail. Fit To Kill looks great for a low-budget 1993 production. Free of deleterious processing, it’s a film-like presentation worth getting in HD.

This is a fine film transfer, probably the best one so far in this line, highlighting the bright cinematography and perky video attributes by Mark Morris. The elements are in good shape with healthy colors and warm flesh-tones. Employing a lot of day-for-night filming, some interior scenes exhibit crushed black levels. Exteriors exude real depth and cinematic definition.

The 93-minute main feature is encoded in transparent AVC on a BD-50, receiving excellent parameters. The 1080P presentation is shown at a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, fairly close to its intended 1.85:1 dimensions.

Audio

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA soundtrack is appealing, if limited compared to bigger and more dynamic audio experiences. The gunplay and explosions are backed with enough force for a credible experience. Dynamics are okay, if muted at the top end. Dialogue is cleanly reproduced, even if a few middling dub issues introduce possible mistakes into the script. The action doesn’t pack the same punch heard in Hollywood films of the era.

Optional English SDH subtitles appear in a white font.

Extras

The extras included here for the 1993 movie are brought over from BCI Eclipse’s older DVD set of Andy Sidaris’ movies. Mill Creek provides a digital copy, albeit only good on MovieSpree. So, no luck if you were hoping for an iTunes or Movies Anywhere code.

It’s a lucid, informative commentary with Sidaris and his wife Arlene. Andy has incredible recall about his films and fondly remembers almost everything making them. The Andy Sidaris Film School clips provide priceless insight into how his movies were filmed and constructed behind the scenes.

Introduction By Director Andy Sidaris & Julie Strain (01:57 in SD)

Fit To Kill Trailer (01:45 in HD) – Besides the main movie, trailers for the eleven other Malibu Bay Films productions are included as well in HD.

Audio Commentary – Director/writer Andy Sidaris and wife Arlene Sidaris, producer on his movies, discuss memories working with each cast member and how many scenes were filmed. Andy is incredibly open discussing his projects, detailing how each scene was made.

Behind the Scenes Featurette (39:09 in SD) – Really a series of seven different featurettes, these are a mix of archival interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from other Andy Sidaris’ projects. Andy and Arlene contribute context as they discuss what is being seen on screen.

Full disclosure: This Blu-ray was provided to us for review. This has not affected the editorial process. For information on how we handle review material, please visit our about us page to learn more.

The 15 unaltered images below represent the Blu-ray. For an additional 34 Fit to Kill screenshots, early access to all screens (plus the 100,000+ already in our library), 100 exclusive 4K UHD reviews, and more, support us on Patreon.