6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 3.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Based on the airline accident that occurred in July of 2002 and on the events that took place 478 days later.
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Scoot McNairy, Maggie Grace, Judah Nelson, Larry SullivanThriller | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
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
English, English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: As noted below, Aftermath is based on a real life series of events that was widely reported at the time. Therefore, I’ve felt
a
little more latitude in simply detailing the history involved in the following review. Those who aren’t aware of the source material for the film and
who are wary of potential spoiler material are encouraged to skip down to the technical portions of the review, below.
Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross entered the annals of pop psychology consciousness when she posited the so-called five stages of grief in
her
now legendary book about terminally ill patients, On Death and Dying. In Kübler-Ross’ formulation, the stages were Denial, Anger,
Bargaining, Depression and (finally) Acceptance. Kübler-Ross’ work was focused on those facing an imminent mortality, but later analysts (and in
fact
Kübler-Ross herself) widened her approach to anyone dealing with any kind of grief, with two additional sequences being added by some people,
though the basic outlines of Kübler-Ross’ approach remained more or less intact. In what some might see as kind of an ironic callback to Kübler-
Ross’
place of birth, Aftermath is a fictionalized account of a horrifying series of events that began when the Swiss air traffic control system was
found lacking in the, yes, aftermath of a devastating midair collision which killed everyone aboard two planes. Since this event was widely
reported at
the time (the accident took place in July of 2002), if not generally remembered on this side of the pond, it’s not exactly spoiler material to detail
that
a Russian man who lost his wife and children aboard one of the two planes involved tracked the Swiss air controller held responsible for the
carnage,
finally murdering the individual in 2004. Aftermath has a riveting story to tell, but Javier Gullón’s screenplay seems stuck in the Anger
phase of Kübler-Ross’ five (or seven) stages, before suddenly vaulting into Acceptance in the film’s closing moments.
Aftermath is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. While the IMDb doesn't have technical data on the film, some online sources state that the Arri Alexa was used for the shoot. Pieter Vermeer crafts an intentionally wintry ambience throughout much of the film, with cool tones predominating, and many scenes awash in an abundance of whites, all of which gives the film a rather flat look much of the time. Some scenes, including the sequence where Melnik explores the crash scene, have boosted brightness, with, when combined with the whiteness, tends to keep detail levels at bay, except in the case of some extreme close-ups. The palette is desaturated or at least not very vivid throughout much of the film, helping to establish the bleak emotional aspect of events depicted. Vermeer and director Elliott Lester favor extreme close-ups quite a bit of the time, and in relatively normal lighting conditions, fine detail is often excellent (see screenshot 1). Some of the brief looks at supposed home movies of the Melniks have been tweaked to look almost hallucinatory (see screenshot 16). There are no issues with image instability and no compression anomalies of any note.
Aftermath's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is perfectly workmanlike and competent, but it really doesn't have much opportunity to knock sonic socks off. The plane crash which causes such trauma is only referred to, never really depicted, robbing the film of one potential overwhelming use of immersion and LFE. As such, surround activity is largely confined to ambient environmental noises, as well as some good directionality in dialogue and attention to differing ambient environments when the film ventures from indoors to outside. Fidelity is fine, all elements are smartly prioritized, and there are no issues with damage, dropouts or other problems.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has been doing some fairly respectable character work as he gets into his golden years, and he has several good moments in Aftermath, though one is always aware that there's a former action idol on screen. The story is so unbelievable that it manages to captivate even when it seems totally incredible, but Aftermath might have been better served by an at least somewhat less melodramatic treatment of the revenge aspects of the tale. Still, Ah-nold fans may want to check this out, and for those considering a purchase, technical merits are strong.
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