Blu-ray Movie Reviews

After 30 years as partners in the pressure cooker environment of the NYPD, highly decorated Detectives "Turk" and "Rooster" should be ready for retirement. But, before they can hang up their badges, they are called in to investigate the murder of a notorious pimp, which appears to have ties to a case they solved years before.

This is a film that lays out a lot of cards right off the bat and then tests your trust in what is before your eyes. The idea of putting DeNiro and Pacino on the same bill is more than a treat for film lovers and the results are solid, though not quite the homerun you’d hope for. This is a nice twisty cop thriller and the performances are solid all around but compared to the duos last outing in Mann’s Heat it falls a bit short.

Anchor Bay delivers a breathtaking HD transfer for this one. Fine detail and dimensionality are impeccable and I really thought this was a film captured with digital cameras. It was shot with film and this Blu-ray transfer is sourced from a DI, but the results are impressive. The image has so much depth and detail that it delivers that “through the window” look that we only see so much even with Blu-ray. Contrast levels are outstanding with solid blacks and great shadow detail and the color palette has a nice rich look to it. If I had to complain it would be the goldish tint we see occasionally from Pacino’s fake tan.

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and like Anchor Bay’s other recent Blu-ray release Traitor, the volume is a bit too hot. Dynamics don’t seem to suffer much but it does make the dialogue come off a bit too edgy at times. Deep bass extension is impressive and the score and sound design do a lot for the surround soundstage.

Extras include a feature commentary with the director along with some inside features on the film’s production and themes. Disc two also sports a digital copy of the film for portable devices.

This one didn’t get much hype at the box office but it turned out to be a pretty solid crime thriller. The video presentation is outstanding and Anchor Bay continues to deliver some great Blu-ray presentations. Recommended.