Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Dirty-cop movies are nothing new, and for any film in the genre, it would be easy to simply reach for established tropes to tell the story. When you have an entire gang of cops that serves the Russian mob, however, things are almost certain to spiral out of control, and in Universal’s gritty action fest, Triple 9, they do so hard and fast.

The detective investigating a furious bank robbery in Atlanta soon determines that the men he’s after are professionals—not just professional criminals, but well-armed, tactically trained soldiers. What he doesn’t know is that they are actually police officers and that his former protégé is moving right among them, unaware. But when the team prepares for the next heist, the Russians up the ante, and the only way to make this job a success will be to make an unspeakable sacrifice: A cop has to die. Beyond the taut script and John Hillcoat’s edgy direction, the movie boasts a stellar, eclectic cast including Kate Winslet, Gal Gadot, Norman Reedus, Casey Affleck, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Triple 9 is hard-hitting and gritty from beginning to end. With visuals that have an edgy look that is reminiscent of high dynamic range photography, with brutal blacks and a seemingly impossible gamut of contrast, the film has a unique visual signature that is wonderfully represented on this Blu-ray release. With bold edges that appear almost chiseled and razor-sharp definition throughout, the release manages to combine a perfectly modern presentation with the grime of the seedy underbelly we are observing, which makes it a great example of modern, digital image reproduction. It is free of any blemishes and serves as a more than adequate copy of the original digital master without compression artifacts or degradation, while also presenting a color palette that is as vibrant and nuanced as we could hope for.

The same is true for the audio presentation, where the powerful DTS-HD Master Audio track delivers in fine style. With its lossless compression, the track maintains full fidelity under even the most demanding circumstances, allowing the mix to work its magic with full-bodied bass extension and an undistorted high end. Explosive at times, yet also equally ambient, the track offers a solid, modern mix with dialogue that is perfectly integrated and is never drowned out by the high-octane action.

A little light on bonus materials, Triple 9 contains only a few extras, such as a handful of deleted scenes, along with two brief featurettes and an iTunes/UltraViolet HD Digital Copy.

Blu-Ray
Studio: Universal, 2016
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio Format: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Length: 116 mins.
MPAA Rating: R
Director: John Hillcoat
Starring: Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Kate Winslet