Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Based on the popular video game, Hitman stars Timothy Olyphant as a genetically engineered assassin known as "Agent 47." When an assassination doesn't go as planned, the hunter becomes the hunted as he is pursued across Eastern Europe by both Interpol and Russian agents.

Having never played the video game, I had a tough time getting into this movie. I'm not normally drawn to violent films, and if it wasn’t for this review, I would have never placed this one in my Netflix queue.

Although the film isn't my cup of tea, the video quality of the transfer is very impressive. The disc is a single-layer BD25, but bit starvation is never an issue on the 1080p AVC encode. Black levels are slightly elevated at times, but the image itself is clean with excellent detail. Exterior scenes looked fantastic though with superb depth.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1-channel soundtrack certainly fits the genre with an aggressive mix, especially at the low end of the audio spectrum. If you are a fan of bass, you will love the second half of the film as far as the audio is concerned. Surround usage is prevalent throughout, although the dialog could have been recorded with slightly more volume.

The bonus materials include four separate featurettes, deleted scenes, an alternate ending, and a gag reel. The bonus here is that all are presented in high definition, which I always appreciate. Also in the package is a second standard-definition disc with a digital copy of the film that can be downloaded to a Mac or PC for use on a portable media player. I don't own one of these devices, since I don't see the appeal of watching movies on a 2-inch screen, but for the millions of iPod users out there, this is a nice touch.

If you're looking for a mindless action film, Hitman will certainly fit the bill. The audio presentation is outstanding, and the bonus features will please fans, especially those of the iPod generation.

Film: 6 out of 10
Picture: 8.5 out of 10
Sound: 9.5 out of 10

Review System

Source
Sony PlayStation 3

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector