Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Interpol agent Louis Salinger is determined to expose an arms dealing ring responsible for facilitating acts of terrorism around the globe. But as his investigation leads Salinger and his partner, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman, deeper into the secret world of greed, corruption and murder, they become targets of a deadly conspiracy so vast, they soon find the only people left to trust are each other.

I really feel bad for director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) on this one. When the trailers came out for this film they didn’t deliver any real sense of what it was about and, at least for me, didn’t give me any compelling reason to check it out. When I received the Blu-ray for review the front cover reminded me of some straight to video Wesley Snipes B-movie that just screamed horrible cheesy action film. Thankfully, the movie delivers. In fact, it was one of the better thrillers I’ve seen lately and moves at a brisk rate with great action sequences and solid performances by all involved. So if you find yourself like me looking at that stupid cover do yourself a favor and look past it, otherwise you’ll miss a really good film.

Sony delivers a jaw dropping presentation for this one. Right from the get go I was floored by the level of fine detail, depth and dimension. The image is razor sharp and film grain is preserved beautifully. Honestly, this is one of the better presentations I’ve seen lately, and I’ve seen some really great ones. The image has a crisp look that really impresses in the dimension department and color and contrast are exquisite. I will be using this one for demonstration purposes for some time to come.

The 5.1 Dolby TrueHD mix is also solid, but has a minor hiccup. The film’s noise floor was a bit bothersome. I kept hearing it during the quieter passages, especially with the dialogue. It would come in and out when they were talking, which is always a distraction. Aside from that this one delivers. The action sequences display tremendous dynamic range and the low end extension punctuates the gunshots wonderfully making you feel like you’re right there.

Sony has included a digital copy of the film along with their typical BD-Live support. This is also one of Sony’s few releases that supports chat online during the film and a picture in picture commentary during the film. You also get some deleted scenes and a short look at the production.

It is too bad this one got the marketing it did. I wish I saw it in the theaters now as I really did enjoy it. Sony has done a tremendous job with the video presentation on this one so hopefully you’ll give it a chance!