Blu-ray Movie Reviews

D-FENS (Michael Douglas) is a recently laid-off defense worker who's having a bad day. Stuck in the mother of all traffic jams, he abandons his car and sets out on foot to his daughter's birthday party. When a Korean store owner charges an insane price for a can of Coke, he snaps and trashes the store with a newly confiscated baseball bat. Now armed and dangerous, he sets out toward Venice, California with a severe case of road rage and leaves a trail of destruction in his wake.

Writer Ebbe Roe Smith and director Joel Schumacher craft an interesting tale of a man living too close to the edge and what happens when he is pushed too far. In many ways, the film plays out like a video game—our hero (or villain, depending on your point of view) starts his adventure with only his fists, and as time progresses, he acquires more lethal weapons—ultimately, automatic ones—with which to battle his foes.

The VC-1 encode is acceptable for a 16-year-old film, but it's not earth-shattering. Details are a bit soft, especially on longer shots, but the close-ups are much sharper and reveal accurate flesh tones and decent texture. The print is in very good shape with minimal grain, and the color saturation looks natural and well-balanced.

The Dolby TrueHD 2.0 soundtrack is a bit of a surprise given that most films receive a remastered 5.1 track when released on DVD and Blu-ray. The surround channels are virtually silent, even with Pro Logic IIx engaged in my pre/pro, but given the stereo source, this isn't much of a surprise. Dynamics are acceptable with intelligible dialog, and the frequency range has ample low end and crisp highs. Gunshots sound a little hollow and nowhere as realistic as on the recently reviewed Taken, but given the time difference between the productions and the advancements in recording technology, that's to be expected.

The Blu-ray comes in Warner's DigiBook packaging, which includes a 34-page book attached to the case with some essays about the movie, production notes, and some photos. Additional supplements found on the disc include a decent commentary from Schumacher and Michael Douglas, a short SD interview with Douglas, and the theatrical trailer.

I've always liked this film and can sympathize with some of D-FENS' gripes about society—especially his tirade in the fast-food restaurant—although I don't approve of his behavior. The video encode is solid, but the TrueHD 2.0 soundtrack is a head scratcher. Recommended for fans.

Release Date: May 26, 2009
Studio: Warner

Movie: 8/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 6/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

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

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics