5.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
In this fact-based thriller, a single mother struggling with drug addiction is randomly taken hostage in her own apartment by a man on the run from the law for breaking out of jail and murdering the judge assigned to his case - only to realize before the climactic finish that they have actually saved each other's lives.
Starring: David Oyelowo, Kate Mara, Michael Kenneth Williams, Mimi Rogers, Leonor VarelaThriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Director Jerry Jameson's Captive is the film based on the true story of a wanted murderer and the young drug addict with whom he comes into contact while on the run. The film is mildly spiritual insofar as a God-centric self-help book plays a role in the film, but it is otherwise a rather straight tale of desperation of two kinds and of two life perspectives intersecting at a critical moment. The film is well acted though a little stiff and flat on the technical end.
Paramount releases Captive to Blu-ray on a 25GB BD-R disc. The 1080p Blu-ray presentation, sourced from a digital shoot, is perfectly acceptable for detail and color. Essential elements – faces, clothes – are appropriately sharp and nicely detailed. There are many close-ups in the film, vital in capturing a character's thoughts or essence as they maneuver through their personal and shared crises, and the Blu-ray is well capable of rendering eyes, for example, with enough clarity to gaze into souls, even if the story doesn't allow for any real, or at least significant, character depth beyond the surface. Still, the clarity to such essentials is very welcome, and environments – Ashley's apartment, primarily, but also police offices – are sufficiently sharp and well detailed. Colors are a strength, too. The aqua green tile in Ashley's bathroom is a standout while some colorful clothes and cars and a few other critical tones prove well saturated. There's no feeling of oversaturation or flat tones. This is a happy medium color spectrum presentation. Skin tones are healthy and black levels are fine. However, low-light noise appears in abundance. There are no other egregious source or encode issues to report.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack brings a satisfying, full listen that takes advantage of the entire soundstage. The track is heavier on atmospherics and various sound effects than it is music, which is presented with quality stretch along the front, well balanced surround integration, and fine fidelity through the range. The track features several potent gunshots early in the film and some good surround extension and detail, like when helicopters fly around the stage in search of the suspect in the 37-minute mark. Rain saturates the stage at the 59-minute mark and thunder cracks and rolls in the distance as well. Bustle in the police station where officers and personnel are desperately seeking Nichols is nicely defined as well. Dialogue is clear and center focused for the duration.
This Blu-ray release of Captive includes two featurettes. No DVD or digital copies are included. This release does not ship with a slipcover.
Captive isn't very captivating. Where there's room for a smart, insightful story of the transforming of the heart and spirit is a fairly vapid story that lingers on the surface and never feels like it explores the characters' personal transformations, both from the shared experience and the Warren book, with any kind of serious insight. And considering that's the central storyline, the movie simply doesn't work too well. It is acted well. Mara and Oyelowo are strong individually and in their shared screen time together, easily the best thing about an otherwise forgettable film. Paramount's burned BD-R disc does deliver satisfactory picture and sound qualities along with a couple of extras. Worth a look at best.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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