6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A convicted wife murderer returns 22 year later to seek revenge on the daughter who help convict him.
Starring: Amy Irving, Donald Sutherland, Rider Strong, Graham Greene, Christopher McDonaldThriller | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Daddy won't forget this.
A daughter in danger. A father out for revenge. A son and a lover caught in the crossfire. Cue the "duh-duh-dum!" music. Benefit of the
Doubt largely epitomizes throwaway cinema. It's a film with precious little dramatic worth, only scattered entertainment value, and zero novelty.
It's as predictably dull and straightforward as movies come, an experience that's not necessarily insulting -- it's competently made through and
through, at least -- but certainly not really worth one's time or effort.
Daddy's home.
Benefit of the Doubt takes on an aggressively sharp appearance, but looks quite nice otherwise. Grain is usually extremely spiky in appearance, resulting in a sometimes overly crisp image, but the plus side is satisfactory detailing across the board. Old beat-up pickup trucks, denim, Arizona's rust-colored rocky landscape as seen predominantly in the film's final act, and facial textures often look film complex and pure. Colors are fair, even and balanced and, while not quite as naturally brilliant as they might otherwise be, there's an unmissable upper end quality to the entire palette. However, black levels do fluctuate around a bit, looking both lightly pale and slightly too dark in spots. Flesh tones, however, never drift too warm. There are some minor edge halos but very little in the way of excess banding, blockiness, or noise. Overall, and despite the very sharp appearance, this is a pretty strong transfer from Echo Bridge.
Benefit of the Doubt features a satisfactory but hardly invigorating DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. There's just not much going on here. The atmosphere inside Karen's topless bar is quite tame, with little natural ambiance even across the front. The absence of surround channels create a very uneventful sonic environment. Some minor exterior ambience later in the film does prove a little more valuable to the listening experience, and thunder rolls nicely across the front in another scene. However, listeners never get a real sense of the wide-open Arizona outdoors later in the film. The big, heavy whir of machinery at Dan's place of employment does work rather effectively in its scene, but the film's other "big" sound effects -- a few gunshots near the end -- lack any sort of realistic presence or power. The good news is that dialogue plays with a center-focus feel, coming through crisply and intelligibly from start to finish. Overall, this is a workable soundtrack from Echo Bridge.
This Echo Bridge Blu-ray release of Benefit of the Doubt contains no supplemental content.
Benefit of the Doubt is one of the most generic, thoughtless, go-nowhere movies audiences are ever likely to come across. It's competently put together and acted as well as the material allows, but movies really don't come any more predictable or straightforward as this. It's a perfect example of throwaway, unimaginative, and linear cinema from its opening moments to its closing shot. Echo Bridge's featureless Blu-ray offers solid video and decent audio. Skip it unless a textbook example of generic Thriller cinema is for some reason required.
(Still not reliable for this title)
2018
1976
1979
2003
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2018
2005
1996
1998
Collector's Edition
1978
2021
Theatrical Cut
2006
Collector's Edition
1988
2010
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2013
Unrated
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1972
2006