Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Lionsgate Movie •••½ Blu-ray Picture/Sound ••• Original Extras • New Extras None

The most striking thing about this Blu-ray Disc is Arnold Schwarzenegger in close-up. His chiseled features look so sculptural that I felt I could almost walk around him. In longer shots, though, he seems rather flat, as does the rest of the picture, and background areas have fluttery artifacts. Images contain vivid primary tones (such as Arnold's blood-covered hands), deep blacks, and a broad range of subtler hues. The DTS-ES and Dolby Digital EX soundtracks are loud but not particularly clear or differentiating, and the surrounds come into play for the music only. Explosions have some bass but don't really feel that solid. A 5-minute featurette, in which a NASA brain gives the lowdown on Mars, is the only extra; the commentary and documentary from the standard-def special edition have presumably been lost in space.

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