6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A young girl who goes through a difficult experience begins to see everyone's imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up.
Starring: Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, Steve CarellAnimation | 100% |
Family | 87% |
Comedy | 16% |
Fantasy | 12% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Dutch: Dolby Digital 5.1
Flemish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French = Parisian and Quebecois, Spanish = Castilian and Latin American.
English, English SDH, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, Flemish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Imagine the floor-drop moment when the creators of IF discovered that Inside Out 2 would hit theaters within weeks of one another. Delving into the inner workings of a child's mind is nothing new in cinema, but the original Inside Out (and, to no one's surprise, its sequel) rendered most others obsolete and inadequate. Perhaps there's a reality out there where IF lands and resonates more deeply, echoes more profoundly, or finds itself received as revelatory family cinema. Unfortunately for the film in hand, though, this is not that reality. More shoulder-shrug than memorable, more cute than funny, entertaining or meaningful, it's primed for kids to consume but hardly filling. Most will forget about it within the month, growing up looking to films like Inside Out 2 to help them through the perils of childhood and entry adolescence.
Paramount has produced a lovely 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer that captures the color and wonder of the film's imaginary creations and realms. And while it doesn't pop quite as proudly without the HDR enhancements exclusive to the 4K edition, it still holds its own extremely well. The film's palette comes alive the moment the story begins. Whether in the real world or the land inhabited by the IFs, rich earthtones, lifelike skin tones and deep black levels grant the picture power and panache. Detail only makes things that much better with crisp edges, refined textures and exacting shadow delineation that's free of crush and other anomalies. A Tina Turner dance sequence exhibits some red crush, but it's hard to spot so hardly worth griping about. There also isn't any significant banding or blocking, making for a top-to-bottom strong transfer.
IF also boasts a strong Dolby Atmos experience that doesn't disappoint. Dialogue is clear, intelligible and nicely grounded in the mix, and the voices of the imaginary friends sound weighty and natural, connected neatly to the location of each creature-speaker. That might read as an obvious trait all live-action/animated hybrids would get right, but you'd be surprised. Likewise, directionality is excellent, with playful, cartoony effects bounding about the soundfield with energetic spatial prowess and silky smooth channel pans. Real world sound effects are equally believable, creating a soundscape that not only engages but allows for even deeper immersion into what might otherwise be a two-dimensional reality. LFE output lends presence and heft to key sequences and elements too, even though the experience on the whole isn't quite an aggressive low-end powerhouse. All of it comes together with ease by film's end, allowing for numerous standout moments including a musical number, moving reunions between IF and human, and other heartstring-y bits only made more poignant as the music crescendos all around.
IF offers big ol' heart, just of the old-fashioned family film variety. It's a far cry from a bad movie. I'd challenge anyone eager to tear it apart. It just doesn't rise to the level of greatness to which it aspires. Krasinski is a fine filmmaker, though it seems his talents are a tad wasted here, but you also have to respect the desire to create cinematic experiences for all ages and walks of life. I've certainly sat through far, far worse flicks for the sake of my kids, and with a fake smile, mind you, that I didn't feel the need to deploy here. Thankfully, Paramount's Blu-ray release takes away any sting with a strong video transfer and an effective audio track. The disc's touted 40-minutes of extras are a wash, so buyer beware. Otherwise this one delivers.
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