Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Domino Blu-ray Movie Review

A problematic film earns a respectable Blu-ray release...

Erupting onto the scene in 1983 with the now-cult classic vampire love story, The Hunger, director Tony Scott has spent the last three decades making quite a name for himself. While his older brother (acclaimed Alien and Blade Runner director Ridley Scott) has been concentrating on narrative refinement, Tony has focused his sights on tampering with the traditional aesthetics of cinema. Extreme exposures, garish color timing, stark contrast, heavy grain, dynamic subtitles, and uncompromising imagery became the Top Gun director's new tools as he challenged viewers with unsettling shots, varying styles, and hyperkinetic cuts. In Crimson Tide he dabbled with color to great effect; in Enemy of the State he visually replicated the frantic pace of the film's chases with palpable intensity; in Spy Game he used alternating stocks and palettes to convey varying emotions and locales; and in his astonishing gut-punch of a dramatic actioner, Man on Fire, he tapped into every trick in his repertoire to create a sumptuous visual masterpiece. Unfortunately, his next foray into cinematic experimentation was the much maligned 2005 pseudo-biopic, Domino. Once again, Scott pushed the boundaries of beauty to produce an oft-times unattractive film that dug into the lives of several equally unattractive personalities. However, some of his brother's narrative prowess would have gone a long way toward making Domino a better film.

When a demure but feisty bounty hunter named Domino Harvey (Keira Knightley) finds herself in the custody of FBI agents investigating an armored car robbery, she decides to tell the criminal psychologist assigned to her case (Lucy Liu) exactly what happened. In quick succession, we learn about Domino's childhood, the untimely death of her father, her subsequent rebellion, her brief career as a young model, and her eventual encounter with Claremont Williams (Delroy Lindo), a bail bondsman who hired her to work with other hunters in his employ. Before long, she gets acquainted her new colleagues -- father-figure Ed Moseby (Mickey Rourke), brooding gunslinger Choco (Edgar Ramirez), and driver Alf (Rizwan Abbasi) -- and helps them track down her first bounty. But when a television producer named Mark Heiss(Christopher Walken) creates a reality show based around her team and her boss gets embroiled in a personal mess, everything spirals out of control.

Loosely (I stress loosely) based on a former model who lived an unlikely life as a bounty hunter, Domino is a dishearteningly inconsistent film that continually follows tangential characters and dead-end subplots. When Knightley and Rourke take center stage, the film is actually a fairly fascinating character study of a girl who falls from grace and desperately fights to keep her vulnerable emotions in check (despite some unnervingly liberal alterations to the real Harvey's life). However, the moment Scott begins devoting a ludicrous amount of screen-time to Lindo's character and the misguided criminal dealings of his annoying mistress (Mo'Nique), everything falls apart. I didn't care about the details of her every exploit, the manufactured sympathy I was supposed to feel for her situation, or the manner in which she manipulates Williams into helping her... I just wanted to get back and see what was happening with Domino and Moseby.

The introduction of Christopher Walken as a smarmy producer is equally distracting. His presence takes the story in an interesting direction, but Scott spends far too much time detailing the behind-the-scenes minutiae of a reality TV show, focusing on its hosts and crew members (particularly 90210's Ian Ziering and Brian Austin Green, playing and parodying themselves), and watching each of them react and take advantage of the tragic events that transpire. In fact, for a film named after its title character, Domino seems far more interested in its supporting cast than Knightley. The result is an at-times unwieldy, confusing, and cluttered actioner that would be a complete waste of time if not for the relatively impressive performances of its lead actors.

I'm sure some of you will defend Domino for its no-holds-barred attitude and its appetite for chaos and uncertainty. I'm sure some of you will even enjoy the endless parade of characters that somehow managed to earn so much of Scott's affections. Personally, I just didn't get it. I expected the director to inhabit his title character's motivations, decisions, and thoughts. I wanted to understand her attraction to bounty hunting, watch her reflecting on her choices, and dissect her dreams and regrets. Instead, I found Domino to be little more than a sprawling, over-the-top actioner that was more concerned with its bullets and betrayals than the real people who inspired its story in the first place.

Domino Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like the Blu-ray edition of Man on Fire, Domino features a visually arresting, technically proficient 1080p/VC-1 transfer that captures the many subtle (and not-so-subtle) nuances of Scott's film. The director pushes his palette to every extreme with over-saturated colors, skintones that bleed yellow and amber hues, and unforgiving blacks that practically pour over the image. It may not always be pretty (especially by traditional standards), but it's an extremely faithful representation of the director's intentions. Detail is exceptional throughout as well. Skin textures are insanely sharp and lifelike, the tinniest arm and facial hairs are perfectly rendered, and the smallest shards of shrapnel and splintering wood have been preserved with care. The heightened contrast does increase the visibility of the film's grain field, but the results never feel out of place or distracting. More importantly, I didn't catch any offending artifacts, noise, banding, or DNR.

I could have sworn I noticed slivers of lingering edge enhancement here and there, but it was never intrusive enough to warrant any serious investigation or concern. In fact, if I have any complaint it's that the darkest portions of the image often swallow too much on-screen detail. Of course, it's a fairly moot nitpick since Scott obviously enjoyed submerging his cast and sets in murky shadows and inky blacks. All things considered, Domino boasts an excellent video transfer that will easily please fans.

Domino Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Like the video transfer, Domino's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track offers fans a faithful presentation of the film's audio that exudes a high level of high-def polish. Low-end bass tones are robust and powerful, the rear speakers aggressively support blaring shootouts and the film's more subtle acoustics, and dialogue is crisp, clean, and well-prioritized (even during the most intense gunfights... of which there are many). I also continually found myself sinking into the film's immersive soundfield -- environmental ambience brings the various city streets to life, interior spaces sound realistic, and the film's gunshots and screams sound convincing. Better still, whizzing bullets sounds as good as they do because of several smooth and transparent pans, and crowded set-pieces sound quite believable since the track usually surrounds the listener with perfectly situated effects. There are times (particularly in the third act) where sound explodes from every channel, overwhelming the soundfield and forsaking the more precise directionality that dominates the majority of the film, but it's a minor issue that's most likely an intentional design decision.

While Domino's TrueHD mix falls short of the best reference-level lossless tracks on the market (due to its heavy-handed original sound design), it still comes pretty close to being an early 2009 audio standout.

Domino Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Domino arrives on Blu-ray with the same collection of special features that appeared on its previously-released DVD. While I would have liked to see even more attention focused on the real Domino Harvey and more documentaries on the production itself, the disc delivered enough material on the genesis of the project, the production, and the reception of the film to keep me entertained.

• Audio Commentary with Director Tony Scott and Writer Richard Kelly: Scott and Kelly cover everything you'd ever want to know about Domino, but each of their comments have been recorded separately. The result is a somewhat dry experience that could have been improved by simply putting both men in the same room. Even so, it's a well-paced and detailed commentary that has a lot to offer fans of the film.
• Alternate Audio Track: A fascinating and insightful commentary of sorts that includes recordings of development meetings between Scott, Kelly, producer Zach Schiff-Abrams, and actor Tom Waits. It's a scattershot track, but it provides a unique glimpse into the work that went into the script, the decision making process, and more. It's also an unorthodox feature that's well worth your time.
• I Am a Bounty Hunter (SD, 21 minutes): This all-too-short look at the life of Domino Harvey trots out interviews with her family and co-workers, a rather superficial bio, and a decent assortment of facts. It's not as revealing as I'd hoped, but it does highlight the differences between her experiences and the story portrayed in the film.
• Bounty Hunting on Acid (SD, 11 minutes): A hyperactive look at Scott's imagery, camera tricks, and experimental style. Unfortunately, it doesn't delve into the methods used to create some of the visuals, but it still serves as a fitting look at the man behind the camera.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD, 8 minutes): More of the same. Why these seven scenes were cut or trimmed (or, alternatively, why more scenes weren't cut from the film) is a mystery to me. Granted, each scene includes optional commentary bits with the director, but he seems more evasive than he did in the main track.
• Theatrical Trailers

Domino Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Domino is an unfocused, unwieldy film from director Tony Scott that spends far too much time examining everyone but the elusive Ms. Harvey. The Blu-ray edition is a decided improvement that features a faithful, technically striking video transfer, a strong Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track, and a solid collection of supplements. I wouldn't recommend this release to anyone who hasn't already watched and enjoyed the film itself, but fans will be extremely satisfied with the results.