A hardcore vid awash in the trappings of light fetish, the appropriately titled and handsomely shot Black Boots is one horny tape that just misses igniting into a full-on raging boil.

Its negligible storyline has Juli Ashton playing a bored shoe store clerk who, after getting harassed by her dirty-old-man of a boss, finds new employment as a bootblack at a leather bar complete with back room dungeon.

That's where all the action takes place most of it featuring performers garbed in generic, but hot nonetheless, kink couture.

Highlights include a nasty, domineering bitch in a leather swing directing some muscle boy how to pleasure her pussy, French anal queen Liza Harper proving that she's also one of the biz's great, voracious cock-suckers (who just loves to aggressively lunge at the thing) and the venerable Sharon Kane reaming Ashton's ass with a glimmering silver vibrator.

Indeed, each of the tape's half-dozen sex scenes are infused with good, steamy energy enhanced by the typical VCA top-flight production values.  Nonetheless, they come up a tad short of flat-out scalding status.  And while the vid is a star vehicle for Ashton, she's turned in much hotter performances elsewhere.

Points off too for the clichéd hard rock soundtrack and Chi Chi LaRue's at times meandering direction, a style that would have been better served with some tighter editing from Marc Wallice (yes, that Marc Wallice).