6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A dog travels 400 miles in search of her owner.
Starring: Ashley Judd, Jonah Hauer-King, Edward James Olmos, Alexandra Shipp, Chris BauerDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Romanian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Turkish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Malay, Mandarin (Simplified), Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Thai, Turkish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
W. Bruce Cameron's A Dog's Purpose was brought to the screen in 2016, six years after that breakthrough novel took the literary world by storm. Cameron has since made quite a name for himself writing books about man's best friend. In 2017 he published A Dog's Way Home, which Sony Pictures has translated for the screen. The picture follows in the tradition of classics such as The Adventures of Milo & Otis and Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, though this film takes a more realistic, contemporary, and sometimes darker and less approachable path towards bringing its four-legged hero home. The film's forays into more mature themes ultimately gives way to several heartfelt moments, but it's good-hearted human and canine nature, not so much contrived cinema circumstance, that bring about most of the emotional responses to the story.
A journey begins.
The digitally photographed A Dog's Way Home offers a high quality Blu-ray viewing experience. The image is resplendently clear and detailed, with pinpoint clarity that reveals every strand of animal fur, the leathery nose textures, and Bella's sparkling eyes. Environments are terrifically defined and sharp, whether interiors like Lucas' home, the VA hospital, or various examples of terrain seen through Bella's journey, from rocky shores along streams to snow-covered land. Colors are faithfully reproduced with neutral contrast the defining characteristic. Bella's fur is a lush brown while natural greens dazzle in various exteriors. Human skin tones appear true and black levels are appropriately deep. The image does reveal a fair bit of noise in lower light shots, and some shimmering can be seen during an establishing cityscape shot early in the film, but the image is otherwise in perfect shape.
A Dog's Way Home barks out a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation is largely reserved and front-heavy through the first act, with score the most prominent component. Music presents with lively, cheerful purpose, terrific clarity, and modest surround integration. The track gains some momentum, variety, and several examples of depth during Bella's journey through the wilderness and a few cities. There's strong depth to a gunshot crack just before the 40-minute mark, at that point the most prominent effect the track has to offer. The track's most aggressive sonic moment comes during an avalanche at the 51-minute mark, with thunderous depth and full-stage push as the snow rumbles through the listening area. Lighter woodland effects, including sounds of running water from nearby streams, offer well-versed front and rear envelopment. Dialogue is clear, center-focused, and well prioritized, whether human conversation or Bella's inner voice, provided by Bryce Dallas Howard.
A Dog's Way Home contains deleted scenes and a few featurettes. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are
included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.
A Dog's Way Home is a mostly family-friendly, emotionally driven, and heartfelt tale of love's pull, love that extends beyond the human soul. It's a film about connection and self-discovery but also the hardships, rigors, and realities of the way the world works. Love makes it go 'round, but as Bella learns, there's a lot more to life than just the bond that she shares with Lucas. It can be a little dark for younger viewers, but beyond a few moments it's a fairly safe and sincere movie. Sony's Blu-ray is unsurprisingly of excellent quality. Video and audio presentations are fine and a few extras are included. Recommended.
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