5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 1.5 | |
Reviewer | 1.0 | |
Overall | 1.1 |
The countdown has begun... Around the world, mysterious natural events are wreaking havoc on the planet. No one can explain them. Alison, an L.A. reporter, has witnessed the bizarre earthquakes and tornadoes firsthand. And when her young daughter disappears, she discovers she's part of an unfolding plot that threatens all of humanity.
Starring: Kim Little, Russell Reynolds, Spencer Scott, Danae Nason, Matt MercerThriller | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 78% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 0.5 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 1.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 1.0 |
Who knew the end of the world could be so...boring? Director A.F. Silver's film is a snooze-fest of tedium that explores, um, some kind of end of the world cataclysm that's a backdrop for the tale of a woman in search of her missing daughter. The picture plays out almost as if in slow motion. Every scene feels like it takes ages to go anywhere, like the movie is stretching every which way it can to squeeze out enough minutes to reach 90. It's so slow that every little plot advancement gets lost in the shuffle of its structural haphazardness, inability to adequately shape a narrative or even tell a core story. It's "daughter is missing, mother panics" and everything else is like background noise, and no matter how deep the lead characters gets, it all feels superfluously tedious and unimportant. A movie like this is a reviewer's worst nightmare. It's like trying to write about paint drying or the grass growing without falling asleep at the keybo..............................ard. Sorry. Won't happen again. The Red Bull promises.
She'll do anything to keep this movie off her résumé.
Countdown: Armageddon features a dull but workable 1080p transfer framed at 1.78:1. Details are rarely exciting or exacting. Skin and clothing textures fail to find aggressive, nuanced specifics. Faces are particularly flat, but basic surfaces like stucco walls and desert terrain look healthily complex and clear. Colors are largely flat and uninspired outside of daylight scenes, but natural greens and Allison's blue shirt are capably robust. Skin tones push warm and blacks pale. Noise, aliasing, and light blocking are evident. Watch for a building to sway in and out under the influence of poor digital workmanship in one early scene.
Countdown: Armageddon features a lazy Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. There's little organic life to music; it's cramped and lacks vitality, heft, or more than cursory clarity. Earthquakes, wind, and other heavy effects fall flat with a noticeable lack of distinction, placement, or realism. They're basically defined but go no further. Dialogue is adequately clear and well defined but a touch sharp and shallow in spots.
Countdown: Armageddon contains no supplements. No "top menu" is included; chapter selections may be accessed in-film via the "pop-up" menu. Movie playback begins immediately upon disc insertion.
Countdown: Armageddon is even boring to write about. It's an empty, aimless film that fails to shape any kind of message, tell any kind of dramatically satisfying or intense story, or support it with any meaningful action or special effects. It's low-budget rubbish with bigger aspirations that it cannot touch for every reason: a bad script, a dull story, poor acting, lame visual effects, iffy editing, and so on. One word to sum it up? How about a guttural "ugh." Echo Bridge's featureless Blu-ray offers passable video and dull audio. Skip it unless slow torture sounds for whatever reason fun.
(Still not reliable for this title)
2008
2017
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1985
Corrected Disc / Mad Max 2
1981
1979
Unrated
2011
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2023
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Director's Cut
2009
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Collector's Edition
2013