5.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
When her 14-year-old son drowns in a lake, a faithful mother prays for him to come back from the brink of death and be healed.
Starring: Chrissy Metz, Josh Lucas, Topher Grace, Mike Colter, Marcel RuizBiography | 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 7.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
There’s a question that regularly occurs to me when I watch supposedly “inspirational” films that feature some kind of purported “miracle” that (typically) saves someone at death’s door: what about the ones who don’t make it? Are we to presume that some Divinity picks and chooses whom to save, whom to help, and whom to simply let languish in whatever private hell they may be experiencing? What kind of a Deity is that, some, especially those not granted any healing, might well ask. It’s an obviously hoary metaphysical quandary, but as ultimately “feel good” as many of this ilk of film admittedly can be, it’s a niggling, upsetting aspect that tends to bother me quite profoundly at times. And so it's definitely to Breakthrough's credit that it (ultimately) gets around to addressing this very issue, namely the seemingly random way that Whoever is in charge of reality doles out salvation to some but not others. While that may be one of the, well, saving graces of the film, it may not be enough to totally lift Breakthrough out of the template it seems more than willing to follow, though fans of this sort of often "Dove approved" entertainment will almost certainly find this an uplifting viewing experience.
Breakthrough is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This is another Arri Alexa Mini shot feature, but I have not been able to turn up one verifiable datapoint as to whether or not the DI was finished at 2K or 4K (if anyone has such information, forward it to me in a PM). Despite a lack of what might be called "wow" visuals, this is a consistently impressive looking transfer that offers abundant detail levels in everything from the pill on some of the sweaters Joyce wears to the texturing of bricks at the church. The palette is often skewed toward blues (perhaps a subliminal reference to John's favorite color), and primaries do tend to pop very vividly throughout this presentation. Shadow detail is above average if not particularly deep in some of the interior church scenes during worship where the lights are lowered. The underwater footage is understandably murky looking. As usual, Fox has provided a Blu-ray without any compression anomalies of note.
Breakthrough features a nicely immersive (no pun intended, considering the watery grave John almost wasn't able to escape from) DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track. There is consistent engagement of the surround channels throughout this presentation, including in elements like the hustle and bustle of John's school environment, or even in the more subdued setting of the hospital room(s) where beeping machines surround the comatose boy. The Contemporary Christian pieces at the church reverberate with considerable authority, and the actual underscore is often nicely splayed, giving a bed of sound to support the drama. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this well done track.
Some science fiction fans may remember director Roxann Dawson from her days as B'elanna Torres on Star Trek: Voyager, and some may feel like Breakthrough could have used a bit more of B'elanna's proclivity toward unvarnished, unfiltered truth telling. This is an undeniably moving film, and it at least has the temerity to ask a few troubling questions along the way, but when it's a foregone conclusion that this particular family has their "happily ever after" (even if that ending is an accurate rendering of real life), some of you may still be wondering, as I was, about those (not to pun too eschatologically) left behind. Technical merits are first rate and a number of the supplements very interesting. At least for a target audience interested in "uplifting" fare, Breakthrough comes Recommended.
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