Judge Patrick Rogers, DVD Verdict-- Drop plays like a violent fantasy of a teenager who was never weaned off comic books, caffeinated soda, and Van Damme movies. Yet that's the entire point. At times, the film is like a tongue-in-cheek indictment of a vapid youth movement going through arrested development. This is only heightened by the fact that these characters are mostly caricatures whose lives have no meaning past fighting, stealing and cussing. And yet the film also has a heart to it. While some may take it as a sensationalized look at youth culture, it also heralds a certain philosophy of "boys will be boys" and that we only have one childhood to spend so why not live it with vibrancy? There's a sense of bonding happening between these kids. Just because it's a bond borne from violence doesn't negate the fact that it's meaningful and cathartic to feel a connection to another human being through similar fascinations. Those who take this film or the violence too seriously have missed the point of the film entirely.
The fight scenes are incredibly well staged and photographed. The director adopts a fluid, long take style to capture the hard hitting and realistic (to a degree) nature of these brawls. The cutting in action scenes is some of the most seamless I have seen in a long time. Fists look like they're actually pummeling eye sockets and the bats seem as though they're really cracking some spines. Never does a punch feel like it's being pulled and never does an edit look as though it's trying to hide something. Instead the editing helps to heighten the sensation of violence and struggle.
The most striking parts of the film, though, are how self-reflexive it can be and how it juxtaposes reality against comic book fantasy. It makes a point to show the audience that it's based off of a popular manga series.
The DVD itself comes in a spiffy looking package. The guys in the art department over at Funimation should pat themselves on the back. The image of the film itself can be soft at times though. But on the whole it does a nice job at reproducing the film's rich and varied color palate. The sound mix, however, is something else. Combining the hard crunching noises of the street brawls with the comedic dialogue and commanding voices of the actors, this audiotrack never sacrifices one for the other. All the elements converge to create a perfectly balanced sound capsule of fury and laughter. The only special features present here are a collection of trailers for such films as Alien Vs. Ninja and Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl.
-Full review at dvdverdict.com
