Inferno Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Inferno Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 20, 2017

Inferno is the third film based on a Dan Brown book starring Tom Hanks as the iconic Robert Langdon and directed by the equally iconic Ron Howard, following The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons. Inferno serves up much of the same in terms of approach and character construction and utilization, but it's also the darkest film in the series, tonally and thematically alike, pitting a weakened Langdon against his most difficult adversary and with the fate of the globe hanging in the balance. Beyond a few twists and turns and Langdon's knowledge as his most prominent weapon, it's a rather routine Thriller that works a bit better than average thanks to the source's quick speed and tale of interest, Langdon's superb development and Hank's performance, and Howard's firm grasp on what makes the series tick, both visually and structurally alike (despite the series' transition from film to digital). It's arguably the strongest film in the series, perhaps not the most fluent in terms of demonstrating Langdon's intellectual prowess (though admittedly by design) but certainly in terms of story's depth and Howard's craftsmanship.

Putting the pieces together.

Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) awakens in a Florence hospital, disoriented and unable to recall how he came to be in Italy or why he's in the hospital. His long-term memory is also failing him. His attending physician, Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), who has been a fan of his work since she was a child, tends to his injuries, which include a grazing bullet wound to the head. Before Langdon can get his bearings or recover from the pain, someone attempts an assassination. He and Sienna go on the run and return to her place. Langdon finds himself in mysterious possession of a miniaturized, makeshift projector that presents a slightly altered recreation of Dante's Inferno. Sienna, herself an amateur student of symbology, and a mentally weakened Langdon begin to piece together a series of clues that lead them to believe that a billionaire named Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster), who preaches the dangers of overpopulation, has hatched a plan to wipe out the majority of the human race. Now, they must race against the clock to prevent armageddon on a global scale.

Mass murder versus extinction. The fundamental notions of right and wrong. What constitutes good and evil. And above all else, what is true and what is a lie? A complex web of social and environmental concern, mass murder, mass salvation, darkness, light, forgetfulness, fate, twists, and turns await the audience and Robert Langdon in this latest adventure. That's par for the course for Dan Brown's and Ron Howard's Langdon tales. Inferno is easily the darkest entry in the series, exploring the very notion of hell, one man's interpretation of it, and another man's vision of mankind's self-destruction into it. The film is much more apt to embrace darkness, distress, and uncertainty than its predecessors. It features a mentally weakened Robert Langdon, effectively taking away his greatest assets: his sharp mind, his quick thinking, his command of his intelligence and, more important, ability to put it all together and put it to use to battle evil and unearth the truth. In Inferno, the audience finds Robert Langdon at his most vulnerable, physically wounded and mentally off his game. It's a terrific little twist for the series and raises the stakes by a considerable margin, particularly considering the backdrop of a plot that pits the hero against a villain with a desire to wipe out the vast majority of human beings on the planet. All for the good of the species, of course.

Inferno's villain is straight out of James Bond. He's super-rich, has a way with words, and has cooked up a dastardly scheme to solve a problem with a solution that he's identified as necessary and good but that the rest of the world would see as fundamentally evil. He's a classic villain with a warped sensibility and sense of self, too, yearning preservation of the species by essentially killing it off. Standing in his way is Robert Langdon, an educated man more comfortable reading a relic than wielding a gun. Whats always been cool about Robert Langdon is that he's basically Bond and Bourne but with a sharper intellect who uses his smarts, not his fists or a gun, as his main weapon. He's capable enough to hold his own when he's pulled down into the physical fray, but he's sort of like Indiana Jones without the slick moves and physical prowess. And with his best asset removed, at least for part of the film, Inferno's stakes are only raised that much higher as the diabolical villain faces off against the weakened hero. The movie doesn't necessarily take full advantage of that contrast. Its big twist isn't hard to predict and its final outcome never seems in much doubt, but it's a relatively fun ride that shakes up the formula while still remaining true to the core. Here's hoping the Brown-Howard-Hanks collaboration has another movie in it; they seem to be getting a bit better with each entry, a rarity to be sure Hollywood.

Inferno Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Inferno is the first film in the Brown/Howard/Hanks Langdon pictures to be shot digitally. It's a shame that Howard couldn't, or wouldn't, commit to keeping along with the series. The established textural appearance complimented the first two films (and Angles & Demons in particular) but the digital, while a touch glossy and flat, is certainly very good in its own right from a purely technical perspective. Details are striking. Close-ups reveal incredible depth to pores and broader textural skin elements with almost scary-good complexity. Brick and stone work around cities, older wooden accents, even the cleaner lines around Langdon's hospital room (at least visible in those shots not reflecting his blurry-eyed vision) are all finely revealing and very sharp. Color saturation is true. There's a lot of natural punch to the palette, and it's never overdone or, on the flip side, lacking in color depth or detail. Black levels are firm and dark and flesh tones appear natural. No major encode or source (even noise) flaws are readily apparent.

Inferno Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sony has one again failed to offer the highest quality available track for one of its Blu-ray releases. While Inferno's UHD contains a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, this 1080p Blu-ray features only a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Fortunately, and has been the case in these dual Sony releases, the "lesser" presentation is excellent. It's just head-scratching and frustrating that the studio can't replicate what others are doing and grace the Blu-ray with the best. Regardless, Blu-ray listeners should be very pleased with the track as-is. There's some quality movement and frightening elements in Langdon's hallucinatory visions of hell. Movement around the stage and precise positioning are obvious. Ambience in the hospital room, on various streets, and in any number of other locations offers a high-yield sense of place. The track feels ever-open and capable of delivering even minute effects with remarkable clarity and precision. Surround engagement, and certainly front-end too, are always capable and ready for heavier effects and action. Gunshots whiz around and impact on various surfaces throughout the film. Alarms blare around the stage at the 50-minute mark. A train powers through the stage about halfway through the movie, yielding a good example of the track's low-end prowess, easy full-stage engagement, and movement. Musical clarity is excellent and space is seamless and wide. Dialogue is clear and center-focused and well prioritized for the duration.

Inferno Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Inferno contains deleted and extended scenes and several featurettes. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Extended & Deleted Scenes (1080p, 27:19 total runtime): Extended Opening - Langdon's Visions of Hell, Langdon and Sienna Flee the Hospital, Zobrist's Full Length Overpopulation Speech, No Police, Chase Through Boboli Gardens, Sims Races to Florence, and Extended Ending - Life Pulls Us Apart Again.
• Visions of Hell (1080p, 5:35): Cast and crew, along with Dan Brown, discuss the story's darker and more chilling narrative and themes, including a discussion of Dante, whose stories and imagery play central to the film.
• Inferno Around the World (1080p, 13:34): A closer look at the film's casting and the cast's international and diverse flavor.
• A Look at Langdon (1080p, 6:21): A closer examination of Robert Langdon throughout the Dan Brown trilogy of films.
• This Is Sienna Brooks (1080p, 5:48): This piece explores the film's female lead in more detail.
• The Billionaire Villain: Bertrand Zobrist (1080p, 5:13): Insight into the film's antagonist.
• Ron Howard, a Director's Journal (1080p, 10:02): Howard discusses his embrace of social media, shooting locations, crafting various scenes, working with the cast, and more.
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Inferno Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Inferno doesn't quite capture the very real urgency of its plot, nor does it connect any dots to any real-world conspiracies in any meaningful, eye-opening ways, but it does do what the series does best: use basic knowledge to expand on itself and open up new ideas and interpretations of established truisms and understandings of the way things work. There are a couple of decent, though fairly transparent, plot twists, and Langdon's mental disarmament for parts of the film is a great device. The film moves well and sits as the best of what is currently the three Robert Langdon films, with, hopefully, at least one more to come. Sony's Blu-ray delivers superb video and audio. Supplements are fine, but a commentary track would have been icing on the cake. Recommended.