5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A Copenhagen police officer seeks justice for his partner's murder by a mysterious man.
Starring: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Carice van Houten, Guy Pearce, Søren Malling, Paprika SteenThriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Almost unbelievably considering the number of well remembered films he has made over the course of several decades, can we be getting to “whatever happened to” territory with regard to Brian De Palma? There’s a case to be made for that kind of sad fact, including the data point that it’s been over half a decade since De Palma’s name has been on the credits list of a major film as director. And some curmudgeons may even take issue with calling an outing like Domino a “major film”, since it has a kind of made for television ambience that seems to deliberately mimic series like Homeland in its tale of counterterroism efforts by law enforcement. Christian (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is a policeman in Copenhagen who is devastated by a life threatening injury to his partner Lars (Soren Malling), a situation for which Christian feels at least partially responsible. Christian’s attempts to bring his partner’s attacker to justice soon embroils him in plots being hatched by a wider “terror cell”.
Domino is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The IMDb lists Arri Alexas as having been utilized, and I'm assuming things were finished at a 2K DI. This is a kind of curiously variant looking transfer, with some moments looking crystal clear, with very nice detail and fine detail levels, and other moments, notably a few thankfully brief establishing or other outdoor shots, looking at least somewhat more ragged and less detailed. De Palma is up to his "old tricks" here with a number of bells and whistles, including split diopter shots and "arty" framings that try to offer a glut of information via elements like screens and even mirrors (see screenshot 4 for one example of what I'm talking about). The palette looks natural throughout and things are rather commendably free of "thriller" grading clichés. There are some slight wobbles with contrast, notably in a couple of scenes taking place in cars, which can have a kind of milky haze overlaying the imagery.
Domino features a sporadically impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, one that bursts into life in some of those aforementioned POV sequences where carnage fills the screen. Some of the outdoor material also provides nice surround activity with well placed ambient environmental effects. There are some kind of hackneyed uses of edits and Pino Donaggio's score which may cause a bit of eye rolling, but the score itself sounds full bodied and is nicely splayed throughout the side and rear channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.
The only supposed "Special Features" on this disc are trailers for other Lionsgate releases and Bookmarks, neither of which I personally consider to be "scoreable", hence the goose egg above.
There's one set piece in this film which brings a whole new meaning to the "red carpet" at film festivals. That sequence is actually one of the more audacious in Domino, despite content that some may well find disturbing if not outright objectionable, but that said, had the rest of this film aimed for the kind of lunatic heights, Domino may have made more of a lasting impact. There are some exciting moments here, but the film as a whole seems weirdly disorganized and unfocused. Technical merits are solid for those considering a purchase.
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