4.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 1.0 | |
Overall | 1.0 |
A Wall Street investment banker who has been set up as the linchpin of his company's mob-backed Ponzi scheme is relocated with his family to Aunt Madea's southern home.
Starring: Tyler Perry, Eugene Levy, Denise Richards, Doris Roberts, Romeo MillerComedy | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 0.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 1.0 |
Be careful what you ask for. Over the course of many, many (many) reviews of Tyler Perry films, I have repeatedly stated that the actor-writer-director-producer-craft services provider (okay, that last one is probably pushing it) needs to divorce himself from—well, himself, and work with someone else, notably a strong director working from a non-Perry written script. So for those of you who suffered through the recent Alex Cross, please accept my heartfelt apologies and my stated confession that I’m sure it’s all my fault, as there’s no doubt Tyler Perry reads Blu-ray.com and took my recommendations into account so as to further his career. However, the fact that Alex Cross’ failure wasn’t blamed (entirely) on Perry perhaps lends some credence to my thesis that this undeniably talented multi- hyphenate needs to collaborate more, especially as a hired gun for other people. Exhibit number one in this argument: Madea’s Witness Protection, yet another trip down cross-dressing lane, as Perry becomes the annoying, overbearing and often downright offensive character who has pronunciation problems galore but always seems to know exactly what needs to happen to everyone with whom she comes into contact. Madea’s Witness Protection does show a certain “evolution” in Perry’s thinking, if not his actual style, for this is the rare Perry outing that doesn’t wallow in bathos and outright melodrama and instead tries (not always successfully) to focus on comedy.
As is usual for most Tyler Perry's films, the visual acuity of the presentation far outshines any actual content, and that's certainly the case once again with this Lionsgate Films presentation, delivered via an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Set once again in Perry's preferred locale of Atlanta, there are several nice establishing shots that present a glistening view of the "new south"'s major metropolis. The overall image here is very sharp and well detailed, with nicely saturated color and excellent fine object detail for the most part. There are a few passing shots, like the early scene of Madea in her Cadillac (see the first screenshot accompanying this review) that don't quite pop as well as the rest of the feature, but even those offer well above average detail.
Madea's Witness Protection features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track that offers its best surround activity when Aaron Zigman's techno meets Danny Elfman score enters the sonic scene. Otherwise, immersion is pretty rote here, with occasional ambient environmental sounds tumbling through the surrounds, but the bulk of the film resolutely anchored front and center with regard to the dialogue. Fidelity is just fine and there's some wide dynamic range, not all of it courtesy of Madea's overbearing tendency to scream and yell at everyone.
There's a reason that few if any Tyler Perry films are screened for critics prior to their release, and why their home video releases are similarly kept from scathing critics' commentary prior to street date. But it's an oddly ironic reason: Perry or someone at the studio obviously doesn't want bad word of mouth to spoil the lucre pouring in from the public, though it's obvious by this point that Perry's audience really couldn't care less what mere critics think about this or that project. It's a sad but inevitable fact that as long as audiences are willing to plunk down their hard earned cash, there will no doubt be more Madea movies. Somewhere along the line, though, people must ultimately become aware of just how tired and listless this series has become. It's almost enough to make you wish for an Alex Cross sequel, stat.
2009
2011
2013
2006
2016
2005
2019
2008
2012
1991
2010
2017
1997
The Rougher Morning Edition
2017
1989
1984
1992
Unrated Edition
2013
2009
2019