6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Martin and Claudia are lawyers -- and ex-lovers -- who find themselves put at risk after they join the defense team for an international terrorist's trial.
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Eric Bana, Julia Stiles, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Ciarán HindsThriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
BD-Live
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Closed Circuit promises an all too timely political thriller rife with government corruption, mass-scale privacy invasion and paranoia; opening with a startlingly shot terrorist attack in a London marketplace captured on more than a dozen street cameras. What it delivers, though, is a dated, feebly scripted, conspiracy-laden legal procedural that begins to fall apart the moment it's subjected to the slightest scrutiny. Plot holes abound. Convention displaces invention. Each punch is telegraphed. And predictability is king. Most distressing is how quickly director John Crowley and screenwriter Steven Knight abandon the small, nuanced touches that nearly render their first act riveting, culminating in a dismally anticlimactic third act that makes everything that comes before it that much more implausible. The film's only saving grace? Crowley's smartly cast ensemble, with Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Ciarán Hinds and Jim Broadbent bringing far more to the table than Closed Circuit is equipped to handle.
Trying to piece together the truth in the aftermath of tragedy...
Closed Circuit at least looks the part of the cold-blooded thriller it wants to be thanks to a bleak, occasionally beautiful 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation. Though cinematographer Adriano Goldman's palette is largely drained of color, contrast is dialed in rather effectively, skintones are carefully saturated, black levels are muted but satisfying, and delineation is quite good (albeit a bit problematic when shadows press in or night falls). Detail doesn't disappoint either. Edges are clean and refined (minus a hint of ringing here and there), textures are natural and well-resolved, and there isn't any sign of significant artifacting, banding, aliasing or any other issue that might impede the film's photography. I did notice instances of moderate crush and uneven noise -- some of it a touch garish -- but none of it was cause for any major concern. All in all, Closed Circuit's transfer impresses.
Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is decidedly decent, boasting a strong, albeit rather conventional experience built on more than a few moments of (aurally) immersive genre suspense. Dialogue is clear, intelligible and neatly grounded in the mix. While a bit on the front-heavy side, the soundscape is engaging and energetic... once, that is, the film dispenses with laying a foundation and resorts to chases, attempted murder, secret rendezvous and other tropes of the trade. LFE output is suitably weighty, lending fitting intensity to intense situations and sonic dread as required. The rear speakers, meanwhile, are subdued on the whole, yet lend Crowley's London a lived-in quality bustling with dull passersby and droning traffic oblivious to the unpleasantries occurring in the public's midst. All told, it isn't what I'd call a remarkable lossless track; just a solid mix that gets the job done without incident or distraction.
The only extra to be found is "Secrets Behind the Camera: Closed Circuit" (HD, 3 minutes), a quickfire promo that doesn't offer much in the way of secrets, insight or behind-the-scenes footage or interviews. At least none of any substance.
There will be those who aren't bothered or unsettled by Closed Circuit's shortcomings. To them, this will be a particularly harsh review of a film some will describe as "not that bad." But Bana and Hall are that good, and deserve a better return on their investment than a hackneyed genre script full of holes and inevitabilities. At first glance, Closed Circuit has a lot to offer. Upon closer inspection, though, its assets aren't nearly as appealing -- or airtight -- as they might initially seem, and the whole thing comes undone long before Crowley's endgame is sprung. Thankfully, Universal's AV presentation is much better, with a terrific video presentation and a solid lossless audio track. However, as is so often the case with box office duds that take a critical drubbing, Closed Circuit arrives with little in the way of extras. Rent it if you're curious. If nothing else, Bana, Hall, Hinds and Broadbent's performances will give you your RedBox-money's worth.
2012
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