7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A writer discovers a top-secret drug which bestows him with super human abilities.
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Andrew Howard, Anna FrielThriller | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 42% |
Psychological thriller | 9% |
Mystery | 9% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy (on disc)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Cliff Robertson was sick and tired of watching other actors walk off with Academy Award nominations for film roles which he had originated in television versions of the same properties. In the Golden Age of live television drama, Robertson starred in well-received versions of The Days of Wine and Roses and The Hustler, and then had to stand there when the film versions went on to star the likes of Jack Lemmon and Paul Newman, both of whom received tremendous acclaim and, yep, Oscar nominations (neither won, perhaps thankfully, as Robertson’s head might very well have exploded). And so when Robertson played another juicy role in a television drama, that of a mentally deficient man named Charly who was medically altered to become a super-genius, the actor wasn’t taking any chances and secured the film rights for himself, walking away with his own Best Actor Academy Award in 1968 for Charly. (The award was rather notorious in its day for the amount of ad space Robertson bought touting his own performance and nomination, something that back in the 1960’s was deemed incredibly scandalous but which nowadays is more or less par for the course). In the “everything old is new again” department, a sort of neo-Charly hit the megaplexes a few months ago in Limitless, a film which on its surface at least bears a certain resemblance to Charly and its source short story Flowers for Algernon. Though Limitless’ lead character Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) isn’t a mental defective, he’s a professional writer, so that may in fact be splitting hairs. (I jest, of course). When Eddie is handed an illicit drug which ups his brain power considerably, suddenly he finds himself “King of the World,” and havoc of course ensues. While Limitless has an interesting (if somewhat recycled) premise, there most likely aren’t going to be any Academy Awards this time around, no matter how many trees are felled to produce ads touting anyone's acting feats. That doesn't mean that Limitless doesn't have its own charms, for it certainly does.
Limitless arrives on Blu-ray with a mostly spectacular looking AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. This is a film which intentionally shapes the color palette according to what's going on, and so highly desaturated elements exist side by side with color boosted sequences, and the contrast (no pun intended) between them can be very, very appealing on this Blu-ray. While the drab, dingy world of Eddie's "normal" life is cast mostly in grays, browns and drab blues, once he pops an NZT, things change dramatically, and color is immaculately presented, especially with regard to Cooper's impressively blue eyes, probably the best eyes of that color since Paul Newman's. Detail is really astounding in some of the "amped up" scenes, and the color is incredibly well saturated. There are some niggling problems with this transfer, mostly to do with very minor aliasing that crops up a couple of times on heavily patterned grille-work and the like. But overall this transfer boasts exceptional fine detail, amazingly variegated color and contrast, and solid black levels.
What is that sound? Limitless gets off to an amazingly robust sonic start with a loud pounding sound which thunders out of the subwoofer via a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Vestiges of conversation dart through the soundfield, causing a kind of sonic disequilibrium. What exactly is going on? That sets the film up for a nice amount of well articulated sound design which utilizes a wealth of great source cues and sound effects to up the aural ante. While there really aren't traditional action sequences per se in Limitless, there's a wealth of sonic detail throughout the film, especially in the copious locations in and around Manhattan, where everything from the roar of traffic to the sound of ice skaters in Central Park is delivered with acuity and precision. Dialogue is of course crisp and easy to understand (though one of the bad guys has a very heavy accent which is a bit hard to decipher), and the balance between all the elements is handled excellently throughout.
Limitless has a few limits it can't quite overcome. It's too brisk for its own good, with several key plot points just kind of appearing out of nowhere. It also is tonally a bit schizophrenic, one part black comedy, another part paranoid thriller. But it's to the film's credit that it still manages to be a very entertaining ride. Burger utilizes the New York locations very effectively (much more effectively than The Adjustment Bureau, actually) and Cooper, while as slack-jawed and amiable as ever, gives a decent enough performance to reel the audience in and keep them there. This is no great masterpiece, and it's certainly no Faust, but it's a solid piece of filmcraft that delivers the goods within the confines of its limited ambitions. The video and audio elements of this Blu-ray are outstanding, and though the film has some problems, overall this is Recommended.
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