Contraband Blu-ray Movie

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Contraband Blu-ray Movie United States

Blu-ray
Mill Creek Entertainment | 2012 | 110 min | Rated R | No Release Date

Contraband (Blu-ray Movie), temporary cover art

Price

Movie rating

6.3
 / 10

Blu-ray rating

Users0.0 of 50.0
Reviewer2.5 of 52.5
Overall2.5 of 52.5

Overview

Contraband (2012)

Chris Farraday long ago abandoned his life of crime, but after his brother-in-law botches a drug deal, Chris is forced back into running contraband. Things quickly fall apart, and Chris must use his skills to navigate a treacherous criminal network of brutal drug lords, cops, and hit men before his wife and sons become their target.

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, Lukas Haas
Director: Baltasar Kormákur

Action100%
Thriller77%
Crime55%
DramaInsignificant

Specifications

  • Video

    Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
    Video resolution: 1080p
    Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
    Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

  • Audio

    English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)

  • Subtitles

    English SDH

  • Discs

    Blu-ray Disc
    Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)

  • Playback

    Region A (B, C untested)

Review

Rating summary

Movie2.0 of 52.0
Video4.0 of 54.0
Audio4.5 of 54.5
Extras0.0 of 50.0
Overall2.5 of 52.5

Contraband Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 17, 2021

Mill Creek has released the 2012 Mark Wahlberg film 'Contraband' to Blu-ray. Universal released the film to the format in 2012. This Blu-ray compares favorably with the Universal disc for its video and audio presentations but lacks the rather full allotment of bonus content included with that release. This Mill Creek issue is currently only available as part of a two film bundle with 'Fear.'


For a full film review, please see Kenneth Brown's writing accompanying the 2012 Blu-ray at this link.


Contraband Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality  4.0 of 5

When Contraband released to Blu-ray in 2012, it did so fresh out of theaters and received the standard high quality treatment from Universal, a studio which was then much more more apt to make a mess of its catalogue output but consistent in delivering high yield new releases. This is almost certainly the same master Universal sourced the Blu-ray from for the 2012 release, and while this undoubtedly looks very similar, there's no mistaking that this release is a minor step down. It shares a disc with Fear and lacks the bit rate and breathing room from Universal's original presentation.

That said, the presentation is fine as-is, capturing the film's inherent aesthetic -- in his 2012 Blu-ray review Ken Brown called it "another dark, gritty actioner shot to make audiences say, 'wait, what's going on over there?'" -- with commendable faithfulness to the source. The film holds to its natural grainy appearance, through there are some mild artifacts littering the background, intermixing dense grain with chunky digital blocks that give the picture a somewhat uneven appearance. However, core detailing remains very high. The picture is sharp as can be as it is, revealing essential facial and clothing textures with high yield clarity and visibility. Environments, particularly aboard the ship, reveal plenty of tattered surfaces and worn layers that give the location a tangible sense of character. Colors output is likewise faithful, featuring cranked contrast and crushed blacks (which appear to be by design). The picture's encode shortcomings aren't too terribly distracting. While this falls just a tad short of Universal's disc, the loss is very minor in total; most won't notice any huge differences.


Contraband Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality  4.5 of 5

While I don't have access to the 2012 Universal disc for direct comparisons, this is almost without question the same DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Listening here perfectly reflects Ken's writing on the nearly decade-old disc. The track is appropriately spacious, perfectly clear, and integrates ambient effects extraordinarily well. The stage is almost always alive in some way, whether sounds within the ship's bowels, street level atmosphere, or engine sounds inside vehicles. There's a steadiness to both clarity and immersion that makes this a very satisfying and high yield track. More intense action elements enjoy similar stage engagement for both width and surround depth alike. Musical output is clear, widely spaced along the front, folded into the rears with balance, and supported by a quality low end output. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and firmly grounded in the front center speaker. All is well with this track.


Contraband Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras  n/a of 5

This Mill Creek Blu-ray release of Contraband contains no supplemental content. Universal's 2012 Blu-ray included a fairly in-depth array of bonuses, including a picture in picture making-of, an audio commentary track, deleted scenes, and a couple of featurettes. It's a shame none of that made its way over here, but that's par for the course for Mill Creek's double features. No digital copy is included, either.


Contraband Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation  2.5 of 5

For those who already own Universal's Blu-ray there's no reason to make this purchase. It's a slightly lesser release for mild compression issues and the absence of supplements. The movie isn't anything to write home about, either, but it is capably entertaining. For newcomers who just want to watch the movie and won't nitpick the picture quality or watch it from six inches away this is a perfectly acceptable alternative to the Universal disc.


Other editions

Contraband: Other Editions