7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
When an army commando finds his true love is engaged against her will, he boards a New Delhi-bound train in a daring quest to derail the arranged marriage. But when a gang of knife-wielding thieves begin to terrorize innocent passengers on his train, he takes them on in a death-defying kill-spree to save everybody.
Starring: Laksh Lalwani, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh ChhayaForeign | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Hindi: Dolby Atmos
English, English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: Aside from this Amazon exclusive SteelBook release, Lionsgate is also offering Kill 4K in standard packaging.
What does it say about Kill that its title card appears well over half way through the running time? Well, basically that despite attempting
to gussy things up with stylistic conceits like that, most of what's on tap, including that weirdly late credit, has been done in other films, repeatedly
(there
are some interesting online aggregations listing films with late arriving credits sequences, for those who might be interested in such marginalia). If
that suddenly disjunctive, but kind of slyly "meaningful", appearance of the word Kill on screens as the film is at least partway through its
perceived second act is just one example of "been there, seen that", the whole setup of violence in the confines (and of course
occasionally either on top or dangling out of a window) of a speeding train is itself kind of a tired trope at this point. Spectre and
Skyfall both have train fights (and Skyfall in fact began with just such a sequence), but longer memories involving James
Bond may recall a more contained but just as visceral climactic battle in From Russia with Love. Trains being either taken hostage or otherwise afflicted with some kind of impending tragedy
have been featured in everything from Source Code to The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
(and, yes, that one is a subway, but you get the drift). And of course there's the relatively recent Train to Busan, which offered a "different" kind of "terrorist". So, what sets
Kill apart? Probably the sheer overwhelming lunacy of the
violence that erupts after that title card appears, when focal character Amrit Rathod (Lakshya) becomes an avenging angel of sorts, taking out
hordes of bad guys in an attempt to wreak havoc on a group which has taken over a speeding train and itself caused mayhem, including the death
of at least one notable character (in a plot point that won't be overtly spoiled here, but which is probably easy to guess).
Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package.
Kill is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. Arri Alexas were utilized,
and the LF Mini offers a 4.5K source capture resolution in this aspect ratio so I'm assuming this had a 4K DI, though as of the writing of this review, the
IMDb isn't listing that particular data point. This may be another one of
those "headscratcher" 4K releases that Lionsgate occasionally befuddles potential consumers with, due to it not offering any "version" of HDR. That
results in a presentation which may arguably have marginally better fine detail levels at times than Lionsgate's already great looking 1080 presentation,
but virtually no change to the palette (at least that I
could detect). HDR certainly might have aided the many dimly lit scenes in the train in particular, but also potentially could have provided some
exciting highlights for some of the aggressively graded material that shows up interstitially, both on the train and off. All of this said, detail levels and
clarity are certainly commendable throughout this presentation, but this seems to be something of a lost opportunity for a 4K UHD release.
Kill features an explosive Dolby Atmos track in the original Hindi, with forced English subtitles (even the Audio Setup menu states the subtitles are forced, one of the few times I remember seeing that on a disc menu). The track offers clear engagement of the Atmos speakers at any number of junctures, including as early as a wedding announcement shortly after things get started where guns are fired into the air. But a number of whirlwind sequences, including some scary "outdoor" stuff also offer some overhead placement of ambient environmental effects. Despite the cloistered surroundings of much of the story, there's good use of the side and rear channels in some of the fight scenes in particular. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. While the English and Spanish subtitles are ostensibly optional (there's an "off" choice in the Setup Menu), the English subtitles are forced.
Both the 4K and 1080 discs in this package offer the same slate of supplements, all of which are in Hindi with English subtitles:
While there are sadly probably too many terrorist attacks to easily keep track of them all, some may recall a thwarted attack on a high speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris in 2015, and as an Oregonian, I'm proud to say one of the three American servicemen who helped subdue the would be killer went to high school and college in and around the quaint town of Roseburg. Kill is itself supposedly based on a real life train robbery experienced by Bhat, but unless news reports were seriously lacking, that robbery didn't result in the kind of mass deaths portrayed in the film. Kill evidently got quite a good reception at TIFF last year, though I haven't seen any authoritative data on how it did at the box office on this side of the pond. One way or the other, I am personally frankly just not a fan of the kind of nonstop violence on tap in the last act of Kill in particular, but for those who do enjoy (?) seeing people getting pummeled, impaled and vivisected, Kill will probably provide more than enough entertainment (?) value. Technical merits are solid (though the absence of HDR may be a stumbling block for some) and the supplements very interesting, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
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