Coma Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Coma Blu-ray Movie Review

Stalinception.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III September 15, 2020

Nikita Argunov's Coma is an ambitious Russian import that borrows elements from Inception and The Matrix. All three are effects-heavy films that exist mostly within a gravity-defying dreamworld and, due to their complexity, hold our hands with exposition that fills in very specific rules. Inception and Coma are equally flawed and fascinating for similar reasons, although the latter is more concerned with sci-fi action than the layered revelations of an elaborate heist film. It's a mostly winning formula, but one that falls into the "visuals first" mindset of most Hollywood blockbusters.

Our Neo/Cobb this time is "Architect", the moniker given to a man named Viktor (Rinal Mukhametov) after he awakens in a world where the laws of physics do not apply. Other inhabitants are also named after their former professions or new skills: Astronomer (Milosh Bikovich), Tank (Vilen Babichev), Fly (Lyubov Aksyonova), and brusque leader Phantom (Anton Pampushny); some, including sage-like Yan (Konstantin Lavronenko, The Return), are not. Besides being two-thirds of a lopsided love triangle, Phantom and Fly are also responsible for lots of that pesky exposition. All the while, our group searches the labyrinthine landscape while avoiding horrific, oil-like monsters known as "Reapers" using their powers, which now include Architect's ability to generate new structures at will.

Coma's twisting, almost randomly-generated world around them exists for a good reason and doubles as its best idea: it's based on the shared memory of comatose patients, and one that can only be escaped when a person awakens in the real world. Naturally, no one knows exactly how they got there, although the film smartly takes breaks along the way by cutting to Viktor's former life. This reveals a narrative twist that, while not wholly original (or even satisfying), is passable enough to warrant the rest of Coma's smartly-constructed existence. Like many psychological thrillers, it's best experienced with as few spoilers as possible. So at the risk of wrapping things up too quickly, just know that anyone who enjoys heady sci-fi and doesn't mind reading subtitles will probably enjoy this one.

MPI's Blu-ray also includes an English dub for those averse to the original Russian, but this is not recommended for the same reason as almost every other dub: it just sounds silly. (It's also the default mix, so be sure and visit the setup menu and adjust accordingly.) Luckily, the disc also includes solid A/V specs and a few short but interesting bonus features that give it a bit of added value. A Steelbook variant is also available for packaging collectors.

Coma Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Coma is so effects-heavy at times that it's hard to tell where the live action ends and green-screen begins, but MPI's Blu-ray serves up a very crisp and stable 1080p transfer that looks extremely consistent. The dreamworld scenes offer a mixture of color tinted backgrounds and boosted saturation levels that almost resemble a painter's hues. Real-world footage -- such as it is -- shares a similarly surreal vibe, while flashback bursts are even more dreamlike in appearance with blurred edges and other focus-related tricks. Image detail and textures are solid overall and this disc runs at a high bit rate with no glaring faults -- mild banding is visible on harsh gradients, but that's about it.

Coma Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Two DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mixes are included: an English dub and the (superior) original Russian, with both offering crisp dialogue, bombastic moments of surround activity, and a hefty overall presence. Ilya Andrus' original score incorporates itself nicely, sounding powerful and dynamic without overshadowing background noise and speech. It's an outstanding effort that, in almost every sense, suits the film's exceptional visuals perfectly. Two English subtitle tracks are also included: SDH for the dub, and standard subs for a literal translation of the original Russian.

Coma Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Featurettes (~2 minutes each) - These short behind-the-scenes pieces include "CGI", "The Characters", "Love", and "The World of COMA".

• Theatrical Trailer (2:16, dubbed English only)

Coma Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Though it cribs several ideas from established Hollywood productions (and falls victim to a few of their clichés and trappings in the process), Coma is an ambitious import that fans of potent, effects-heavy sci-fi and psychological thrillers should enjoy. MPI's Blu-ray serves up a decent amount of support including great A/V specs and a few short bonus features. Unless you opt for the Steelbook variant instead, this is a recommended blind buy.