Blu-ray Movie Reviews

An all-star cast are featured in this epic post-apocalyptic tale of the survival of a father and his young son as they journey across a barren America that was destroyed by a mysterious cataclysm. A masterpiece adventure, "The Road" boldly imagines a future in which men are pushed to the worst and the best that they are capable of - a future in which a father and his son are sustained by love.

I read this book last year prior to the limited theatrical release of the film. To say the story is bleak would be an understatement. And this film captures exactly that. The film is set in a post apocalyptic tomorrow where everything is pretty much gone. The only people left are savages or worse. A man and his son struggle for survival along the road, and flashbacks reveal their situation little by little. This is a depressing tale of survival under the worse of circumstances and the film makers have done a commendable job bringing the book to life on the screen. But this isn’t an easy ride.

Sony is handling the video release of this film for Dimension, which is typically released under the Weinstein Brothers moniker. The video presentation is strong, but the photography style makes for a drab and sometimes soft endeavor. You can tell they grayed out the skies in post production and there are some subtle artifacts associated with the process that creep into the image. Longer shots are also on the soft side. Close ups reveal great detail though and the film’s contrast levels are outstanding. This is a very dark film so a high contrast display will be needed to make the most of the film’s imagery. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix is outstanding and adds so much to the character and mood of the film. The sound design makes the most of the surround mix with great ambiance and spatial cues. Deep bass response is also impressive and system threatening at times.

Sony includes a feature commentary with the director and a look at the production of the film. You also get some deleted scenes and some BD-Live interactivity with Sony’s movieIQ feature.

They did a great job bringing this somber novel to the big screen. While not for everyone, it is still a powerful and moving story. Sony has done a great job with the Blu-ray presentation, especially with the soundtrack, making this an easy recommendation.