6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Two strangers are irresistibly drawn to one another by their mutual desire for revenge.
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Colin Farrell, Dominic Cooper, Terrence Howard, Armand AssanteThriller | 100% |
Crime | 80% |
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 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Life is what happens to you along the way.
Cinema has been so saturated with cookie-cutter pictures with cookie-cutter story lines -- many of them of shoddy-to-poor quality -- that it's
sometimes difficult to distinguish one film from
another. Many follow similar plot lines, like "man seeks revenge on the killer of his wife and child." Many attempt to cover a lack of novelty with darkly
stylish overlays and wannabe cool but ultimately routine shootouts. Many others still rely on emotional cliché to try to persuade audiences to care
about the characters. Many more overcomplicate or, worse, overdevelop a story to the point that it loses not its meaning but rather its feeling, the
intimate connection with the audience, the sense of urgency, the want for justice, the need to see the character through the ordeal. Dead Man
Down is victim of all of these. It's a terribly uninspired midline picture that's very dark and plays with little originality, sluggish pacing, marginal
character development, and bookends with a couple of shootouts that may as well have been pulled from other movies. It's not awful, but it's not
something that really speaks to its viewers, either. It's the very definition of "routine," a movie that won't scar the psyche but won't be stored in the
memory banks, either.
Just memories.
Dead Man Down, one of the year's darkest pictures, arrives on Blu-ray with a satisfactory high definition presentation. Black levels are, of course, critical to shaping the transfer. The bad news is that crush is evident throughout, though to varying degrees. There aren't many instances of blacks that are deep but still balanced enough not to simply devour large portions of the screen and the details therein. Otherwise, the transfer looks fine, though don't expect classic "eye candy." The darkness inhibits one's ability to enjoy the finer details or revel in brighter colors. There's a good, basic foundational clarity and sharpness to the image. Textures are fine, but there just aren't many instances of a truly revealing sort of visual structure thanks to the heavy dark overlay. The same holds true with colors. Subtlety and brilliance both are lost under the darker backdrops, but those rare brighter daytime scenes reveal a nice urban palette underneath. There are no major -- or minor, really -- instances of banding, blockiness, noise, or other unwanted elements. The transfer looks about as good as the style of movie allows.
Dead Man Down significantly benefits from a robust DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation showers the stage with well defined musical notes, particularly heavy club beats and bass. Similar elements melt into the background during the film's first major shootout. The combination of hardcore thumps with potent gunfire makes for a sonically invigorating sequence, particularly with the heavy gunfire slamming home from all around the stage. The climax begins with an insanely exciting crash that explodes into a barrage of gunfire. The entire end sequence sounds fantastic. Even through all the activity, not a single shot, crash, or other sound of mayhem comes into the stage without delivering an exceptional piece of what becomes a demo-worthy larger whole. The track delivers well-assembled and largely natural ambience, whether creating that sense of sonic emptiness -- an environment defined by a single low hum, for example -- or more robust thunder and falling rain in chapter twelve. Dialogue flows evenly and with careful balance from the center. This is another top-tier soundtrack from Sony.
Dead Man Down contains three featurettes.
So, yes, there's a pulse, but it's faint. Dead Man Down is at least a well-crafted and occasionally compelling picture, but never is it remotely riveting or anywhere in the ballpark of "new." It flounders through character cliché, generic emotions, visually snazzy but nevertheless routine shootouts, and drags through a tedious middle stretch. The performances, save for the miscast Terrence Howard, carry the movie better than any other element. This is another in a disturbingly growing library of absolutely forgettable films, films that are neither awful nor for any reason memorable. Sony's Blu-ray release of Dead Man Down features good video and great audio. A few extras are included. Rent it.
2-Disc Special Edition
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