7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
An anthology series focusing on the hunt for different domestic terrorists, the Unabomber and the Centennial Olympic Park Bomber.
Starring: Sam Worthington, Paul Bettany, Diesel Madkins, Jeremy Bobb, Ben WeberCrime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
The term “criminal mastermind” gets tossed around with considerable alacrity these days, despite the fact that a lot of criminals wouldn’t seem to be overly intelligent, at least as evidenced by some of the stupid decisions they make. There’s probably no arguing the fact that, whatever his flaws, Ted Kaczynski is a genius. The man has an IQ reportedly well north of 160 (“genius” is supposedly officially the domain of anyone with an IQ over 140 or so), and was studying at Harvard at the tender age of 16, earning his first degree at the equally tender age of 20. Kaczynski would seem to be a character tailor made for a feature film or an extended miniseries like the one currently under review, which may be one reason why Manhunt: Unabomber tends to generate at least a modicum of interest despite some pretty clunky writing and a structural artifice that needlessly complicates the narrative. Manhunt: Unabomber is in actuality probably more a story about FBI profile Jim “Fitz” Fitzgerald (Sam Worthington), one of a new breed of analysts the FBI started utilizing in the 1990s and the guy widely credited with helping to bring Kaczynski to justice. In fact if you had come into Manhunt: Unabomber without any foreknowledge of who was playing whom, you’d be excused if you initially thought Worthington was in fact cast as Kaczynski, since the opening vignette documents Worthington, scraggly as all get out, traipsing through the woods and communing with nature as he brings back the bounty of a hunting trip. Only when he gets to his cabin and is confronted by a coterie of FBI agents trying to get him back into the fold does this minor bit of subterfuge become clear. It turns out that Fitz, while diving into the writing of Kaczynski, had had a bit of a spiritual awakening himself, leading to his “Thoreau-ization”. That little tidbit might in and of itself help to point out how powerful Kaczynski’s intellect is, since his writing had such a profound effect on the man trying to stop Kaczynski’s bombing activities.
Manhunt: Unabomber is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Discovery and Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. I haven't been able to track down any authoritative technical data on the shoot, but this has the smooth, sleek look of digital capture, though I have to say that for whatever reason quite a bit of this presentation looks just slightly soft. Some of this may have to do with the repeated use of cool blue lighting and/or grading techniques employed in a lot of the FBI office scenes. Some of the CGI, notably the explosions, isn't especially convincing. Detail levels are still generally high, especially when lighting conditions allow. Shadow detail is a little iffy in some of the darker scenes, including a bunch of the interrogation sequences as Fitz attempts to get Kaczynski to go for a guilty plea.
Manhunt: Unabomber is a pretty relentlessly talky affair, so aside from some ambient environmental sounds when the miniseries ventures outside or the interstitial eruptions of explosions as the horrifying bombings are shown, there's really not any consistently huge opportunities here for impressive immersion. Instead, the track kind of trudges along, offering excellent fidelity and rendering dialogue and effects clearly and cleanly, but (aside from things like the aforementioned explosions) never really going for anything overly "showy".
There's a lot of interesting content in Manhunt: Unabomber, and the more patient viewer with an interest in this case may well want to check out this miniseries. But the structure is overly complicated, something that repeatedly robs the narrative of momentum, and the depiction of FBI higher ups as a bunch of sniveling idiots doesn't exactly play to "heroic" archetypes. The best performance by far is Bettany, who makes Kaczynski both wily but oddly vulnerable. Technical merits are generally strong if uninspiring for those considering a purchase.
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