Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 15, 2017

Director Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk tells a complex story of a young man first caught in the firestorm of war and subsequently caught in the firestorm of celebrity, all the while internally fighting to find his place in the world. It's more a statement than an exploration, less a detailed analysis and more a snapshot of emotional turmoil, but it by-and-large succeeds in delving deep into the psyche of a soldier who finds that war has changed him and that war has changed the perception of him beyond the comfortable confines of his brothers-in-arms. The film is notable for its technical execution as well, shooting at 120 frames per second (presented at a standard 24 for this Blu-ray release but 60FPS for the UHD release). Viewing the film at 24FPS yields an interesting perspective on the film, presenting less a hyper-real take and more a fairly bland, straightforward, almost stage-production-quality picture built on close-ups and perspective shots that call attention to the emotion of the moment and the underlying character analysis playing at its center.

Texas native Billy Lynn (Joe Alwyn) is leaving Iraq and returning home on leave to a hero's welcome. His bravery in war was inadvertently caught on camera, a camera left behind by a fleeing journalist but left rolling, capturing Lynn's heroics when he risked his life to save a wounded brother on the battlefield. He and his squad are being treated to celebrity status on their way to attending a professional football game on Thanksgiving day where they will play an integral role in the halftime show featuring the popular Pop group, Destiny's Child. As Lynn's day unfolds, the film explores his relationship with his disfigured sister (Kristen Stewart), his burgeoning romance with a cheerleader (Makenzie Leigh), and his business dealings with the team's owner (Steven Martin) and a movie producer (Chris Tucker), all the while flashing back to what really happened on that day when both his instincts as a soldier and a man made him a hero and fate and culture made him a celebrity.

It's unfair at best and impossible at worst to comment on Lee's film -- properly or fully, anyway -- without the benefit of viewing it as-intended. The film doesn't play especially well as-is for its Blu-ray release, favoring a stilted cadence, stiff performances, and a sense of expansive emptiness that doesn't translate in two dimensions, on a small screen, at a significantly lower frame rate, and at reduced resolution. But the movie's core dramatic depth does, at least, remain, which is, then, the main focus of this brief review, brief because so much of the experience seems lost under the home video constraints. The story proper is handled with adequate care and attention to detail. Lee and Screenwriter Jean-Christophe Castelli, working from a source novel of the same name by Ben Fountain, dig deep to explore the inner turmoil that defines its title character while more broadly, and a little less pointedly, commenting on the perception of the war at home and how returning veterans are treated in contemporary society. They're rightly hailed as heroes and men of courage, but at the same time coddled and forced into neat little prepackaged clusters for easy mass consumption of hero worship that may not be entirely empty but that tends to feel routine at best and disingenuous at worst. It's a stark contrast to the treatment of many returning Vietnam veterans and makes for a fascinating study in war, culture, publicity, and the like, but the film doesn't quite find enough dramatic muscle, doesn't spend the appropriate screen capital, to truly get into the cultural significance of the returning 21st century war veteran. It does adequately explore Lynn's own reaction to that world, which is the film's primary driving force; it just seems the counterbalance could stand a little more attention to detail.

The film plays with the feel of an unfinished product. Stadium sequences, which comprise the majority of the film, never capture a sense of authentic place, struggling to look or feel full or alive or sound as if they're such. Unimaginative make-believe team logos, never showing "Beyonce's" or the group's faces: there are all sorts of interruptive elements that fracture the movie rather than unite it and keep the audience's attention on Lynn's story and his emotional journey through the film. Lee and his filmmaking team do find the appropriate depth to Lynn's relationship with his squadmates, but it never strikes the right tonal or dramatic note to properly sell his burgeoning romance with a cheerleader or, just as important, his home life and relationship with his sister in particular. The film never feels fully fleshed out, properly explored, seeming to leave necessary exposition behind in favor of focusing on the technical merits, which don't translate over into a version most who see the movie are ever going to experience, anyway. Performances never ignite the screen. Even the venerable Steve Martin is robotic, but there's enough easy-come camaraderie between Lynn and his brothers-in-arms to overcome any technical shortcomings in the performances, capturing an essence of brotherhood that's vital to the story and, arguably, its single most important piece.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Regardless of frame rate or resolution, there's no mistaking that Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk looks terrific on Blu-ray. The movie is packed with intimate, up-close, finely revealing facial features that show every pore, pimple, line, mark, scar, tear, hair, and everything else with incredibly precise definition. Sharp military uniforms are similarly complex. Stitching and fabric density are obvious while patches and medals are meticulously crisp. Environments are naturally gorgeous, whether around Lynn's slightly rough-around-the-edges home or various locales through the stadium, whether the owners' box or down in the seats. Colors are fantastic. One couldn't ask for more vibrancy on Blu-ray. Red stadium seats, the football team's blue colors, patches on uniforms, everything is very well saturated, very bright, and very natural without looking showy or gaudy. Black levels hold deep, flesh tones appear accurate, and the image shows no source or encode blemishes. The digital shoot is a touch glossy by nature, but the movie looks flawless for its Blu-ray release.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk's UHD release features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, the Blu-ray is left with a smaller-footprint DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's very good, though it's a bit lacking even in its biggest moments. A shootout during one of the wartime sequences is the sonic highlight. Gunfire pops with impressive fidelity and accuracy. Bullets zip, impact hard, and shell casings audibly fall to the terrain. Heavier machine guns tear through with greater depth, and explosions pack a healthy wallop. The Destiny's Child halftime show enjoys a nice low end depth, stage width, and strong clarity within the "live performance" parameters. General background stadium ambience is often wanting, however. Rarely does the track find a sense of true depth. Crowd din sounds smaller than it should be, even lowered to favor dialogue. It's particularly noticeable during the game or in pregame. A scene featuring the men walking through a bustling concourse area is much richer and denser. Dialogue is generally fine, a touch shallow in a few places but it's always well prioritized and positioned in the center, save for a few occasions when off-screen dialogue emanates from the side.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk contains several supplements, including deleted scenes and featurettes. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 10:18 total runtime): One Nation, Nine Heroes; Family Dinner; Old Enough to Die For My Country; What You've Seen; We're Just Messing With You; and Get Ready.
• Into Battle and Onto the Field: Stepping Inside Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (1080p, 9:21): A look at the source novel, story and themes, translating the novel to the screen, the technical details of the shoot, cinematography, editing, and what the filmmakers hope to achieve with the film and its presentation.
• Assembling a Cast (1080p, 11:29): As the title suggests, this piece examines casting the film's key roles and the qualities required for the roles.
• Recreating the Halftime Show (1080p, 6:27): Crafting the film's major set piece and sequence, which is based on a real 2004 halftime show at the old Texas Stadium.
• The Brotherhood of Combat (1080p, 4:24): A closer look at the actors' physical preparations and military training for their roles.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk doesn't play poorly at 24 frames per second. At its core the drama remains and the character exploration is satisfactory, if not a bit stilted. But the visual impact is negated and the flat 24FPS version becomes a rather bland and generic point-and-shoot affair obsessed with close-ups and failing to find any real, visceral impact on its surface to compliment the complexities that play out within Lynn's psyche. It's not a disservice to the film to see it this way, but it's a far, far cry from Lee's intended presentation, which, unfortunately, current home technology cannot replicate in the sum of the frame rate, resolution, and 3D qualities. This Blu-ray does offer exceptional picture quality nevertheless. The 5.1 lossless soundtrack is neither disappointing nor in any way spectacular. The included supplements are fine, though a technical commentary track covering not only he film as-constructed but also as-presented for home consumption would have been most welcome. Worth a look.